Hereditary
by EndlessNight101
Summary: SEQUEL TO THE OTHER GREENGRASS GIRL! Lilith Nott and Scorpius Malfoy have been best friends for years. But a dark family secret is about to change their lives forever... and the friendship may not survive. Some Daphne G. POV at various points. R&R!
1. Chapter 1

**_AN: THIS IS THE SEQUEL TO THE OTHER GREENGRASS GIRL! IF YOU HAVE NOT READ IT, IT'S NOT GOING TO MAKE A LOT OF SENSE, SO I SUGGEST YOU READ IT FIRST!_**

I realize that there aren't many character descriptions when it comes to looks in this chapter. That's because I briefly introduced them in the last chapter of The Other Greengrass Girls, or intend on giving a much more details description in the next chapter.

Alright, let me know what you think!!

The Great hall was abuzz that night with the rumour of a secret party taking place tonight. Although I wasn't sure how a party could be secret if everyone knew about it, I suppose it was the best way for the word to spread. With only one night of school left, and with many of us leaving Hogwarts in a year to go out into the big world, we all felt the ticking internal clock of immaturity fading. And we needed to act on these urges... fast.

"Last chance to party, right?" Magnolia Bole mused from beside me. She tossed her ebony black hair over her shoulder and took the opportunity to shoot the 7th year Slytherin's a come-hither look with her eyes that matched her hair colour. "That and talk to some of those cute boys in our house..." I rolled my eyes at her statement.

"Are you serious, Mag? They'll be gone in a week!" I remarked with a tone of disgust. She only made a face at me, and continued to give the eyes to Ciaran Yaxley. I rolled my eyes again and scoffed at her behaviour; she was the most boy-crazy, hormone driven girl I knew!

"Don't worry Lilith." Talia mused with an identical look as her twin sister, Vanessa. "Ciaran doesn't like dark skinned girls." At this, Magnolia gave a death glare at the Montague twins, then turned back to her mission.

"And how do you know that?" I asked them with raised, questioning eyebrows. They looked at each other, so in-sync it was like watching a mirror, and then smirked at me. "Never mind." I chuckled, shaking my head a little.

"Give him 5 minutes with me, and he'd never look at another girl." Malia Warbeck boasted from beside me. Now _everyone_ rolled their eyes. Malia was the granddaughter of Celestina Warbeck, one of the most famous singers of the wizarding world in her time. Malia was convinced that she had inherited her grandmothers gifts.

No one else was.

"Give him 5 minutes with her, and she'll turn him gay!" Lysander called loudly to her. All the people near us laughed, except for Malia, who turned purple with anger and threw one of the pastries down at Lysander Zabini.

"You'd know all about that, wouldn't you!" Malia spat angrily before she turned and said something to whoever was on the other side of her. Lysander, as usual, was un-phased by that accusation, and continued you enjoy his conversation with Oliver Gamp.

"Did I miss anything, my Ginger Friend?" Scorpius asked, tapping me on the shoulder so that I could make room for him. I chuckled at his childish reference to my hair, but didn't comment on it.

"Oh, just the usual!" Tayber Flint said lightly from across the table from us, casually switching his goblet with Lysander's when he wasn't looking. "Magnolia thinking she can seduce anything male... Malia bragging about her 'amazing' skills... blah blah blah."

"Oh, so there was no point in me rushing back to dinner?" Scorpius chuckled.

"Oh, there is... just wait." Tayber smirked, nodding his head at Lysander, who at that moment took a sip of his goblet. Within seconds, Lysander had spit out the liquid, which instantly turned his entire mouth bright green and hairy. Upon hearing Tayber laugh first, he turned and attacked him, trying to pummel him in revenge. We all just sat there and laughed at the sight.

"I guess there was a point after all." Scorpius chuckled, and then turned to face me. "And how are you, Lilsy? Ready for this dance?"

"Oh, as ready as I can be. How about you Hype?" I said, giving him a sideways glance as I ate my pudding. "I can't imagine you dancing to this type of music."

"I resent that!" he laughed, playfully nudging my side with his elbow. "You've never even _seen_ me dance."

"I imagine I'm going to get an eyeful tonight, aren't I?" I chuckled.

"Don't pretend like you're not excited to see it." He stuck his tongue out at me and poured himself a glass of water. By now, the teachers were breaking up the fight between Tayber and Lysander, and sending them both out of the Great Hall to the hospital wing. I shook my head slowly at the scene, then returned to my dessert.

I was used to scenes like this. Seeing as it was almost the end of my 6th year at Hogwarts, I had seen so many pranks preformed that it was almost old news... especially when you live in the same house as Tayber Flint. He was the biggest prankster joker I had ever met! Nothing to him was serious, and he was willing to get himself nearly expelled just to get a good laugh out of an on-looking crowd. Although many of the girls considered his behaviour to be immature and barbaric at times, I just found it annoying. I was so used to boys and their sense of humour that I had learned to deal with it all. After all, I had a boy as my best friend.

Since Scorpius and I had a friendship that extended all the way back to when we were toddlers, it was only natural that we stick together all through Hogwarts. He was the closest friend I had, aside from my brother and Kiki. He was who I confided everything to, and he to me. We knew almost every aspect of each other's lives, right down to who we had crushes on.  
Ok, maybe not quite _every _aspect, since I did find him rather cute. And I was never intending on letting him know that, since I had seen many a couple go through the same thing; start as friends, date, and then ruin it by the end, and never speak to each other again. That would be too much of a waste as far as I was concerned!  
It was understandable that I wanted us to remain friends anyways. Even if we hadn't met before Hogwarts, we surely would have still been close. We had so much in common! He liked many of the same foods I did, and disliked the ones I did too! Same thing for music, books, people; we were practically inseparable because of the frightening similarities between us.

Except for the summer. That was the only time we were ever separated.

For the past 5 summers, no matter how many times I begged my mother to let me go, she would never allow me to go visit Scorpius at his house. She always made up some excuse, or told me that she needed me at home for something. And when I asked my father, I got a similar, but more frustrated answer. I was very suspicious of their actions. It wasn't that they didn't want me near boys! I saw Lysander Zabini so often I thought he was _living_ in my house last summer! But our parents were close, so it was expected. And I have no problem with Lysander! But _why_ was I never allowed to go visit the person that Iwas closest with!? It was starting to drive me mad...

"Coming Lilith?" Scorpius asked, waving his hand in front of my eyes to get my attention. I blinked and laughed sheepishly at my zoning out... again. I guess dwelling on the thoughts of why Scorpius and I could never be alone was daunting to my brain, and this caused a full mental meltdown conversation wise. In other words, I would just sit there like a troll as I thought to myself.

"Where are we going? It's only 7 o'clock." I asked as I climbed up from the bench and followed the rest of the students as we left the Great Hall.

"You're going to help me figure out what to wear, remember?" Scorpius said slowly, like he was trying to trigger my memory.

"Oh right! Sorry, I forgot." I giggled and shook my head slowly. "Still can't believe you think that I'm going to be of any help to you."

"Well, if I asked any of the other girls for help, they would take the invitation the wrong way, wouldn't they?" he smirked and nudged me in the ribs again. I rolled my eyes and laughed.

"Were you planning on inviting Magnolia up to your room? That's a dangerous feat for _any_ male!" I laughed.

"I can _hear_ you." Magnolia turned and gave me a dark glare over her shoulder up ahead of me.

"And you know it's true, Mag." I smiled brightly. She smirked contently, then continued her walk towards the dorms.

"You've proven your point, Lilsy." He sighed "You are the _only_ girl I would feel safe with in my dorm." He said, putting his arm around my shoulders like I was a guy from the Quidditch team.

"I think you underestimate the element of surprise, Hype." I said in a mischievous tone, ducking out of his half-embrace. "How do you know I'm not going to sneak a dung bomb under your bed?" I asked with raise, questioning eyebrows.

Scorpius looked at me and made a face. "You think that just because I can't get into _your_ dorm doesn't mean I can't get you back, Miss Nott?"

"Well, I don't seehow you could!" I laughed "I mean, unless you're Flint, who somehow managed to break in to the girls' dorm last winter." I said, my mind trailing off at the thought of the 14 owls he somehow got into our room. The mess was disgusting.

"You know, he never told us how he did that." Scorpius said with a quick sniff of laughter.

"Maybe he's secretly a girl?" I added with a smirk, putting my finger to my chin like I was pondering over the possibility.

"God, I hope not! That would make living in our dorm awkward!" Scorpius laughed. "But one thing he has proven; sneaking into the girls' dormitories _can_ be done, so I suggest you sleep with one eye open, Lilith."

"I take that as a 'I'm going to visit you at 3am' point, and _not_ a threat." I said with my nose in the air, trying to pretend like I didn't care. "Not like _you_ scare me anyways"

"Is that so?" he said in a challenging tone, making a jump towards me. I saw it coming and dodged out of the way. I ran the rest of the way to the dorms, dodging excited students all the way, and trying to keep Scorpius at a safe distance.

When I arrived at the door of the 6th year Slytherin boys' dormitory, I was nearly breathless from the run. Scorpius, being as athletic as he was, was on my heels the whole time! I knew he could have easily out-run me; he was probably more interesting in inducing an asthma attack for me.  
"Why... do... you... have... to move...so.... _quick_!?" I panted, leaning against the door for support as I attempted to catch my breath.

"Why do you run so slowly? That wasn't even a challenge for me!" he stuck his tongue out at me. I would have done the same, but I was still too busy trying to breathe again. And then, just to add insult to injury, he opened the door I was leaning on with his wand, causing me to fall into the dorm and land on a pile of dirty laundry that had been drying in front of the woodstove.

"Oh God, that is disgusting!" I wretched as I rolled out of the stinking pile of clothes, and in the process hit my head on one of the 4-post beds. Scorpius, of course, was nearly in stitches laughing at me. I always was the source of all his entertainment when it came to falling, slipping, tripping, or hitting my head. Apparently I had inherited some clumsy gene from one of my parents...

"Lucky for me, I made sure I had clean clothes to wear tonight." He said, stepping over me as I rubbed my head to sooth the pain that someone's bed had caused me. "Otherwise, you would have wrinkled them just now." He smirked at me.

"Please do not tell me those are yours!" I asked in disgust. He gave me a look that told me he had been joking. Then, in one swift motion that barely required effort, he yanked his trunk lid open and stared inside.

"I don't even know where to begin..." he sighed, looking down into the black, wooden box. Now feeling a little less light-headed, I stood up and crossed the room, sitting on the edge of his bed where I could see into the trunk.

"Good Lord, how much clothing do you own!?" I teased him. "I think my entire family has less clothes!"

"Very funny." He made a face at me and pulled a random shirt out of the trunk. "Well, as you can see, I have so many I don't know where to begin!" he sighed as he took one look at the shirt, made a face, and threw it onto the bed behind me.

"Well, pants and a shirt would be a good start." I replied smartly. "Unless you wanted to go naked?" I added with a quick chuckle. Scorpius made a face at me and threw another shirt away from him, this one hitting me in the face.

"Well, how casual do you think this dance is going to be?" he asked, pulling out what appeared to be his dress robes. I looked at them and giggled.

"Well, it's not a ball, Scorpius! I don't think you need to be _that_ formal." I smiled, nodding my head at the formal wear he was holding. He made a serious face at me.

"Don't call me Scorpius." He said in a flat, dark tone. I shrugged and turned back to the trunk. He really did hate his name... not that I could blame him. So of course I only used it when I wanted to tease him mercilessly. "But seriously Lilith, what should I wear to this thing? I don't want to be too dressed up, but I don't want to be too casual either."

"Why are you so worried?" I laughed quietly. "Are you trying to impress someone you're not telling me about?" I asked, a curious look on my face. He looked me dead in the eyes for a moment, clearly telling me that was _not_ his objective, and then turned his attention back to his massive amount of clothes. I sighed and stirred around all the material as well, trying to dig out something that resembled what I knew they were going to wear tonight. "For starters, pick out some casual pants. That way, even if your shirt is too dressy, it won't look like you're going to a wedding."

"So... jeans?" Scorpius asked me with a confused face. I sniffed a quick laugh and nodded my head. He nodded back in understanding, then stuck his arm all the way to the bottom of the trunk and pulled out a nice, crisp pair of blue jeans that looked like they'd never been worn. "I hope these still fit." He muttered to himself, holding them in front of me for inspection.

"Those will do." I assured him, and then looked back down into the trunk. "What colour shirt do you want?"

"You mean I get a choice?!" he asked, feigning surprise. I gave him a dark look for a moment, then pinched his arm. It actually hurt me more than him, since his muscle or bones (I had no idea which it was) was rock hard. "What do you suggest?"

"Not white." I listed off right off the top. "Nor anything that will show a stain if someone spills a drink on you-"

"There's going to be drinking?" he interrupted, now confused and worried.

"There might be." I added without missing a beat of my lesson. "So I would suggest black. It's pretty standard, and it goes with these jeans."

"Dress shirt or t-shirt?" he asked as he moved the mounds of clothes around in front of him.

"The t-shirt should be black. That way it's the back-up, right?" I said lightly.

"Back-up? What is this, a potential food fight!?" he chuckled.

"You know as well as I do that it might very well be if Tayber shows up." I reminded him. He shrugged and nodded his head. "No, it's back-up in case it gets too hot. I mean, if there are going to be hundreds of people in this room, then it can get real sweaty real fast. And you don't want to end up wearing a sweaty shirt all night."

"You know, the more you talk about this dance, the more I _don't_ want to go." He said with a look of disbelief on his face. "Do girls have to layer like this too?!" he asked in confusion. I chuckled at his naivety and shook my head.

"Nope, we approach the situation from the opposite stand-point." I said with a small sigh. "We show up wearing very little, and pray that it doesn't get cold, or risk freezing to death."

Scorpius looked at me like he thought I was making up, but apparently upon further inspection in his mind, got the joke. He laughed after a moment or two of processing. "So what are you wearing tonight then?" he asked as he still tried to find a black shirt. That question caught me a little off-guard. I actually had no idea what to wear!

"Haven't thought about it." I mumbled "But I guarantee it will be made up of more material than anything Malia will wear." I said, rolling my eyes a little at the thought of her wearing her damn tiger-print tube top that barely fit her. I actually shuddered at the thought of her trying to squeeze into it last time she tried it on.

"Need some help picking something out?" Scorpius teased me, handing me a black t-shirt to look at. I opened it and saw that it was a good-old, dependable black shirt. I nodded my head with approval and handed it back to him.

"I don't think I want a boy helping me pick out my clothing, or lack-there-of if he had his way." I teased, sticking my tongue out at him.

"Ooo, turning this into a sexist argument, are we? Well what makes you think I wanted a girl helping to dress me?" he asked in an uppity tone that reminded me of Lysander.

"Well, for one you _asked_ me." I laughed. "And two, everyone knows that girls are more trustworthy, hence why boys are barred from going to the girls dormitories."

"But if I could go up, you wouldn't want my help?" he asked, his manner much more hypothetical. I thought about it for a moment.

"I suppose I would let you input your opinion..." I said slowly. "But I certainly wouldn't let you watch me change!" I added quickly and laughed.

Scorpius stood up from the trunk and chuckled. "That brings us to our next point then, Lilith." He started, looking around at the very open room. "Where do you intend me to try this on?"

I could feel myself starting to blush a little. Yes, he was my best friend, but I didn't want any of the lurking feelings of something else popping out of me in this situation! "Don't you have a bathroom for that sort of-"

"Unless I wanted to get these covered in slime, I wouldn't suggest it." He interrupted me with a small chuckle. I looked at him in disgust and he laughed again. "What do you expect? We share it with Tayber!" I thought about that for a moment, then shrugged in agreement.

"Well, you can go over there while I look for something for you to wear over that." I suggested, climbing down off the bed and kneeling on the floor as I tried to find a sweater or dress shirt that he could wear over the t-shirt. He agreed and crossed the room behind me so I couldn't see. Once he was out of my sight, I didn't feel as awkward, and I could feel myself calming down.

As I dug through his trunk, I hit my finger on something hard and metal. Carefully, I pulled it out of the trunk and turned it over in my hands; it was a picture frame of Scorpius, posed in front of a fireplace with his mother, father, and grandparents. "Why is this picture in here?" I called to him, almost turning around, but stopping myself just in time.

"You mean the picture of the 6 people in my life that judge everything?" he laughed shortly. "I don't like the feeling of them watching everything I do."

I looked down at the picture again for closer inspection. Indeed, his parents looked very loving, but judgemental, a look I had never seen on the faces of my parents. He was indeed the spitting image of his father, as everyone had told him. But his mother, a short, petite woman with long, curly blonde hair, had a beauty in her that made me think she was a Siren; likely to draw you in for life.

"Your mother is very pretty." I said as I stared at the woman, whose blue eyes stared back at me, almost smirking. Had it been a portrait, I'm sure she would have been saying something to me.

"So everyone tells me." Scorpius sighed, still somewhere behind me. "Apparently my father lucked out on marrying her." He chuckled.

"I can see why..." I said, trailing off slowly. Beside Scorpius's father were no doubt his parents. His grandfather, although his hair was grey and his face slightly wrinkled, was clearly once very similar to Scorpius and his father; same facial structure, same coloured hair, same eyes that sent chills down your spine. His grandmother had a similar look to his mother; the air of snobbish satisfaction was practically floating around her. She too now had fading blonde hair, but her skin was wrinkle free, and her eyes were so blue, they looked as though they had been magically enhanced. Clearly, the Malfoy family was one of beauty and status; anyone could tell that just by looking at them!

On the other side of Scorpius, beside his mother, were two other individuals that I assumed to be his maternal grandparents. The man was huge, and looked more like someone that would play for a Quidditch team rather than someone who had to be in their 60's at least! He also had a look on his face like he knew he was in control, whether anyone else knew it or not. It was strange to see a man with such an aura around him still smiling so convincingly... The woman beside him, most likely his wife, was almost the same height as him, but had a much different expression on her face, like she was smirking at all times. She too looked like she had an idea in her head that she was in control. I wondered how two people who appeared so confident could get along and stay in a happy relationship...

"She used to have red hair like yours." Scorpius said right beside my ear. I jumped from surprise and put my hand on my chest. He chuckled and reached out to take the picture from my hands. "Good old Grandmother Greengrass." He sighed to himself as he placed the picture face down on his bed. "Now _she_ was an interesting person."

"Was?" I asked, trying to read into what he was saying a little deeper.

"She's been sick for some time. She rarely comes to visit anymore." He said in a flat tone, perhaps trying to cover up some sort of emotion. "Same with my grandfather; they're both pretty old, after all. My mother goes to visit them all the time now to make up for their absence at our house."

"I heard that your father's parents stay in your house still, right?" I asked, trying to keep this conversation as casual as possible.

"Of course. The house belongs to my grandfather until he dies, and then it passes on to my father, and eventually me. He wants to make sure it's still standing when he passes on." He mumbled back to me. I wasn't sure if he was sad or just bored, but either way, I felt like changing the subject.

"Here, stand in front of me so I can see how you look." I asked with a small smile. He sighed and walked out in front of me. He held his arms out and spun in a circle slowly.

"Descent?" he asked in a annoyed tone.

"I suppose." I teased him with a crooked smirk. "Here, throw this on too." I suggested, throwing him a white hoodie I found near the top of his trunk. He pulled it on and zipped it up halfway, then held his arms out again. "Perfect. Now you're just the right about of casual."

"I'm not really formal though... what if it's more dressy?"

"Hype, it's not a ball! You don't need to wear something you would wear to one of your parent's tea parties!" I laughed.

"Fine, I just hope that this dance doesn't turn out to have some theme, that's all!" he explained as he took the hoodie off and threw it on the bed. "What should I do for shoes?"

"Wear whatever you want. No one is going to be looking at your feet." I said, a small smirk following my words. He stared at me for a moment like he was trying to understand what I mean by that, and I felt it was a good time to make my grand exit. "Alright, now that you're accounted for on the wardrobe front, it's time for me to figure out what_ I'm_ going to wear!" I sighed, standing up from the floor and dusting my skirt off. "I'll meet you downstairs at 10?"

"On the dot. And you'd better be dressed to impress!" he agreed. I turned back and smiled brightly at him before I sauntered towards the door and went to my own dorm, where I had yet to figure out what the hell I was going to wear. Since I had made Scorpius look this good, then I would have to try and make myself look _just_ as good! Otherwise, every girl in the school was going to be all over him tonight... as usual, and I would be forced to watch.

As I had expected, my dormitory was chaotic and filled with a haze of perfume and hair potions that could choke someone. Making my way through the cloud, I managed to find my bed, where I had hidden a couple of options under my covers. In this dorm, if we didn't hide what we intended on wearing, someone would 'borrow' it, or it would just disappear. All around me, my housemates were clattering about who they hoped was there, what songs they wanted them to play, and how they hated that they couldn't fit into so-and-so's clothes they wanted to borrow.

"Does anyone have any red nail polish?" Magnolia called from her side of the room, stepping out from behind her bed and into the centre of the room, showing everyone the tiny black dress she was going to wear tonight. My head instantly heard the echo of my own words that I had told Scorpius only minutes before...

"I have some" Andréa Derrick remarked with a smirk from beside her bed. "But I want to wear those diamond earrings of yours in return."

"For nail polish!? It's not worth the bargain!" Magnolia laughed. Andréa looked at her, then down at the bottle of red nail polish in her hand. Then, like the true Slytherin she was, shot up a look that could only be read as 'you-know-you-want-it' followed by 'this-is-the-only-way-you're-going-to-get-it'. Magnolia, after another moment of consideration, sighed and went to get the earrings that Andréa wanted. As Andréa returned to her bed, which was beside mine, she gave me a quick knowing wink, then sat down on the edge of my bed.

"Sometimes we have to make sacrifices, right?" she mused, taking her blonde hair, twirling it up and pinning it with her wand. "And when she realizes that my nail-polish is actually made of jinxed chicken blood, and it starts to melt off, maybe she'll learn that she should buy her _own_ stuff." She whispered to me, giving me a clever smirk as she put the diamond earrings in her ears. I chuckled and shook my head at her ingenious idea. Andréa Derrick, out of all the girls in my dorm, was the one that I liked the most. She didn't bother throwing herself at all the boys in the school like the rest of them did, and I think we bonded over that fact.

"What are you wearing tonight?" I asked as I compared the two shirts I had picked out in my head.

"I was thinking my red shirt. The one that rests off the shoulder." She explained absently, like she was thinking about it still. "And probably a pair of black jeans or something. How about you?"

At that very moment, I had made up my mind. None of the girls in the room were wearing white, so I help up my white halter top up as the answer. "I figure it's nice enough. With my jeans, of course."

"I love that shirt, Lilith!" Malia called from across the room, sure enough wearing her tiger tube top. "I've never see you wear that! Why not?"

"Because it's a little too nice to wear to Hogsmead, I think." I replied back with a smart tone. "And I like to keep my best weapons a secret." I then turned back to my task at hand, and started to change into my outfit.

"Are you going to wear your silver necklace tonight?" Andréa asked as she too started to change beside me.

"I think so. It's not something I get to wear very often..." I remarked. When I turned 15, my father gave me a silver chain that upon further inspection was a long snake, wrapped around the necklace. At the bottom, where a pendent would normally hang, was the head of the snake, and two emerald eyes that stared out like green beacons. I now pulled the jewellery box it came in out of my trunk and put it on. It was so detailed that it almost felt real as I clasped it around my neck. Andréa caught sight of it and smiled at me.

"So, who are you hoping to impress tonight?" she mused with knowing eyes. I laughed uncomfortably.

"I don't think anyone in particular. After all, there isn't much point if I won't see the boy all summer, right?" I said lightly, trying to sound as casual as I could.

"True. But wouldn't you like to have some interest from a certain boy tonight?" Andréa pressed, a smirk on her face.

"Well, of course I wouldn't _mind_." I laughed, trying to cover up as best I could. No one, not a soul, knew that I secretly had a crush on Scorpius, my best friend! And I wanted to keep it that way! "But I just don't see much point in it."

"I hear that Tayber's going to make his feelings known to someone tonight." Vanessa called from across the room as she tied her hair into a messy bun. Talia, of course, looked identical to her, wearing the same clothes and jewellery. It was confusing enough to us, let alone any unsuspecting boys that they might catch the eye of.

"Oh, like that's a great catch! He'd probably just kilt the poor girl he chooses as a girlfriend every chance he gets!" Malia remarked sourly.

"Funny, I heard you had a little crush on him, Malia." Andréa remarked smartly. All the rest of us laughed, and Malia of course turned up her nose in disgust.

"More like _he_ has a crush on _me_! I would never stoop so low!" she remarked haughtily. I rolled my eyes to Andréa, and continued to get ready.

"Why do I have a feeling tonight is going to be a very dramatic one?" I muttered to myself.

"Because it always is when it requires girls to spend this much time getting ready." Andréa remarked in a sing-song voice before she started to spray on some perfume.

As we all crept down the hallway from our dorm, we kept as silence as possible so to not wake up the younger students that weren't invited tonight. No one was sure who was hosting this soiree, but they had enough sense to make sure that no one under the age of 15 was going to get in. So one advantage I had tonight was that my brother and his partner in crime/ our cousin Kiki, would not be there tonight since Kiki was only 14. Although I was very close to both Damien and Kiki, I found it irritating that they had do literally _everything_ together.

The sound of all of us trying to tip-toe on the hardwood floor in our heels was quite the feat in itself. Normally I was more concerned in not falling flat on my face when I was wearing heels, so I kept my one hand on the wall just in case. A walk that normally took 30 seconds took all 6 of us about 2 minutes to complete, but when we finally reached the stairs down into the common room, there was a unison sigh of relief that we made it.

"Here they come." One of the boys whispered from the dim-lit common room as we trailed out of the dark.

"What took you so long? We have to go before the teachers start making their rounds!" Oliver hissed quietly, reaching his hand out and taking his girlfriend's. He and Andréa had been dating since 4th year, and were still going strong, much to all of our surprise.

"Babe, we're girls! We have to make sure we look perfect before we even dare leave the room." Andréa said with a smirk, kissing Oliver on the cheek quickly as a greeting.

"Well, you look fantastic tonight." Oliver started in his sultry tone that he won her over with in the first place. There was a collective eye roll from everyone in the room.

"Ok, come on you two." Lysander sighed, nudging Oliver forward with his elbow "You can continue the PDA after we get there." He grumbled. I noticed that he didn't look nearly as I thought he would, since he and Tayber were wailing on eachother only hours before. But then again, his eyes and skin were dark like his father's, which may have been the reason why I couldn't see any bruising or swelling...

Scorpius finally weaseled his way around the other girls in our house and was walking beside me. "You're looking good tonight." He teased me.

"I could say the same for you, but I fear it would be a lie." I threw right back at him, trying to pinch him again.

"Are you sure we should go to this thing?" he sighed as he glanced around the now empty common room before we entered the tunnel that would lead up to entrance to the Slytherin common room.

"It's the last night of 6th year! What are they going to go, suspend us?" I laughed "And don't tell me you're that nervous about dancing." I said under my breath.

"I'm not nervous about dancing! I just don't want to go if this is going to be lame and all Gryffindors."

"Ah, still bitter about that last Quidditch Game, are we?" I mused with a small smirk.

"Hey, I don't care what anyone says! Weasley's move was a foul!" he defended sharply. I shook my head and chuckled. He had yet to let go that Fred Weasley, one of the Gryffindor Quidditch team members who was graduating as of tomorrow, had apparently hit him with the bat that he 'dropped' when flying above Scorpius.

"Well, if the Gryffindors are there, you can show them up with your ability to be calm and righteous, and that you don't hold measly grudges-" he opened his mouth to argue with me, but I interrupted him "_Even_ if you truly do. The last thing you want your enemy to know is that you're still fuming over it!"  
Scorpius looked at me in mild outrage, like he couldn't stand the thought of being civil in front of a member of the Gryffindor Quidditch team. But a moment later, his face relaxed, and he shrugged his head in defeat.

"You could have at least have told me that I'll look better than any Gryffindor will tonight." Scorpius sulked. I laughed loudly, and the other Slytherins, who were now all gathered up just in front of the exit through the portrait from the common room, turned back and glared at me. I took the hint and lowered my voice.

"That's a given Scorpius. Slytherin's have always been the more fashionable of all the houses, haven't we?" I replied with a small wink. Then, upon being signalled from a single tap on the other side of the door, we all quietly snuck out of the common room, careful not to let our high heels click or our pants shuffle too loudly.

**_AN: REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW! Let me know what you think!! I have the whole plot outlined already, so hopefully I'll update soon!! But if you review, I have more motivation to work!!  
_**


	2. Chapter 2

**_AN: It's been a while. hasn't it!? Hahaha. Well, I will tell you that I have NOT forgotten about any of my fics... it's just that my new job leaves me EXHAUSTED by the time I come home from work :(  
But I'm working on it! Once I get into a nice routine, I'll have lots of time to write :P_**

In the mean time, enjoy a quick filler scene! The drama starts next chapter! hehe  


When all the Slytherins arrived at the party, the atmosphere instantly changed. There was silence from everyone at the party, who looked at us like they were surprised (or offended) that we even came. To be honest though, we were used to it. After all, when the entire house is descended from people that were once considered the evilest of all evil, the reception wasn't normally a welcoming one.

"Glad to see some things never change." Lysander muttered to Oliver as he nodded at the only other person in the school to share his name. Lysander Scamander and his twin brother Lorcan nodded in response, both with identical ash blonde hair and emerald eyes. I heard Vanessa and Talia giggling to themselves about the only other twins in the school being single, and graduating tomorrow. As Ravenclaws, they were the mediators between the Slytherin house and all others, especially Gryffindor.

"Did anyone follow you?" Lorcan asked in an airy voice. The Slytherin Lysander scoffed and looked at Scorpius and I, who had been at the back of the pack, watching for anyone who might report us.

"Do you really think we would _let_ someone follow us?" Zabini replied. Lorcan gave his twin brother a sideways glance, then shrugged in admission.

"Welcome to the party then." He said calmly, his airy voice barely audible over the music that was starting up again in the background. There of course was an awkward moment where no one moved, but then Andréa and Oliver announced that they were getting drinks, and strolled right through the crowd of students.

"And _why _did you convince me to come to this thing?" Scorpius muttered as we stuck to the outside perimeter of the room, trying to find some empty couches to claim.

"_You _convinced _me_, Hype." I chuckled back, shaking my head slowly "I told you it would be lots of _these_ people here!"

"Well it seemed like a good idea at the time, but then you talked me out of cursing that Weasley kid..." Scorpius muttered spitefully as we passed Fred Weasley, who rolled his eyes into the back of his head and pretended to pass out... similar to how Scorpius fell off his broom at that last Quidditch game after being hit in the head.

"There are like 16 Weasley kids here! Are you sure you want to pick a fight with _all_ of them!?" I hissed, digging my nails into his arm to try and steer him away from the crowd of people who were looking towards us. "I want to make it home tomorrow with all my limbs attached, thank you." I added under my breath.

"What? You fit right in with them, don't you?" Scorpius teased me. "Red hair... pale skin-"

"I will knock you into next week if you say that again." I grumbled as I shoved him towards the empty couches in the corner where the Slytherin's had taken over. Scorpius laughed as he collapsed onto one of the couches beside Felix Carrow, who looked like he was about to fall asleep.

"Felix, why do you always look so tired? All you ever do is sleep!" Scorpius prodded as he pushed the boy up and moved him over so I could sit down.

"Not all of us have the same level of brain functioning as you, Scorpius." Felix replied back in his high pitched yet lazy voice. He, of all the Slytherin boys, was the least popular in our year. He was much more arrogant and sarcastic than any of the other boys, and seemed to never care about anyone else but himself. This made his personality unattractive to every girl in our year, despite his well built figure, curly blonde locks, and tanned skin. As I had once told Scorpius, 'girls don't usually look for someone who is going to treat them like an accessory when looking for a relationship'.

"Don't call me Scorpius, or so help me-"

"You'll do what? Wipe our memories of ever learning it?" Malachi Pucey laughed as he strolled over to the couch with Tayber, his best friend and partner in crime. I was actually never sure what colour Malachi's eyes were since they were always buried behind long, shaggy locks of red, making him the only other red head in our house.

"What would Astoria say about that, Scorpius? I'm sure she slaved over picking out that charming name for _months_!" Tayber teased as he sat down across from me, his brown shaggy locks looking more trimmed than ever. I could now see his bright blue eyes clearly.

"Why must you always bring my mother into this?" Scorpius sighed and sank into his seat farther.

"Never mind them, Hype." I patted his knee lightly, chuckling quietly to myself. "Malachi, are there drinks in this place or what?"

"Depends on what you want, love." He replied back in a flirty tone that made my face scrunch up in disgust.

"Please,don't call me _love_." I shuddered. I had to say I was never attracted to Malachi in my life! Red heads, as far as I was concerned, never looked good together; they clashed colour wise in every aspect! Not to mention I had been asked about 14 times if we were twins or not. I never understood why everyone assumed that all red heads were related...

"Aww, don't say things like that to poor Malachi! He'll be heartbroken if you don't let him get you a drink." Tayber remarked with a small smirk that was more visible in his eyes than on his face.

"Whatever you're intending on putting in it, I'm not going to drink it, so save it." I remarked flatly. "In fact, I think I'll go get one myself." I said, standing from the couch and excusing myself from the conversation.

Once I crossed the room towards the small fountain that was pouring out a variety of liquids, I sighed at the marvel that this room was. My mother had told me that this was how Death Eaters once broke into the school, since this room could transform into whatever the person wanted. In this case, it was a place where all the students could spend their last night together at Hogwarts before we all returned home. It had a sunken floor in the centre, which I could only assume was the dance floor, and all around it on the raised floor were couches and benches for sitting. The music seemed to be projecting out of nowhere, and the lights were dim and changed colour at random. It actually resembled what I had heard muggles would considered a 'night club'. Nowhere near as sinister a use for this room as it had been once upon a time, I gathered.

"What _is_ James doing?" Malia mused as she appeared beside me. I glanced over my shoulder at the boy in question and rolled my eyes. I could see her adjusting her top and fixing her hair so it looked even more poufy and voluptuous.

"You would have a thing for Gryffindors..." I muttered, turning back to the drink fountain and trying to figure out what liquid was what.

"I can't say I judge based on house or family, Lilith. Not all of us come from such pretentious families." Malia remarked with a coy voice. I shot her a quick glare, setting down my glass on the edge of the fountain extra hard so it made a loud noise.

"That is the best example of someone calling the kettle black I've ever heard, Malia. Do tell me, who are you descended from again?" I said, my voice mocking curiosity and understanding. Despite what she thought, I never used my family to get special treatment from others. Of course, I knew my family's reputation... at least, my father's family. And believe me, I would never use_ that_ as an excuse to get anything I wanted or to make myself seem special.

"For your information, I was merely asking what James was doing. He was mimicking something, and I figured your close connections to their family would help in your understanding." Malia replied stiffly, clearly understanding that I had called her out on her hypocrisy. I sighed and turned around to see James Potter talking very animatedly with his hands, describing something that I could not for the life of me understand.

"You do realize that I have no connection to him." I remarked with an annoyed sigh "So if you're asking me if he's single, I haven't a clue."

"Oh please, I'm sure you know!" Malia pressed. "Your cousin is close friends with his sister, right?" she asked, referring to Kiki being on friendly, potions-partner terms with Lily Potter, James's younger sister. Although Aunt Tracey was a little surprised by her daughter's choice in seat mates, she was also surprised when she was sorted into Ravenclaw and not Slytherin...

"If you really want to know, why don't you go ask Al?" I asked, nodding my head in the direction of the other Potter sibling, who (thank God) was much quieter and calmer to speak to, sitting with his cousin Rose Weasley in the corner where all the Gryffindors were. Being in the same year as us, naturally we had all spoken to Albus at least once... I believe my conversation with him was inquiring if I could borrow his ink for a moment as I jotted down an address on an envelope when we ran into each other at the owlery. And of course there were countless times when I asked him if he'd seen my cousin, but he never knew where she was. "Or better yet, go ask my brother. He's more likely to have an even closer connection." I remarked as I finally chose a drink. I also poured one for Scorpius, just because I figured it was the least I could do for leaving him with that prat Felix, and of course Tayber and Malachi, who were no doubt planning something tonight.

"Well, I suppose you've been no help to me whatsoever..." Malia sighed, tossing her long brown hair over her shoulder and batting her green eyes in his direction. "I guess I'll have to go at this one alone." She remarked absently before she walked in the general direction that James and the other 7th year boys were standing. I didn't even turn around to watch; I really did not want to see the two of them if she _somehow_ succeeded at seducing him.

When I returned back over to the couches I was thankful to see that Felix was gone, and only Malachi and Scorpius remained. I took my seat beside Scorpius again and handed him his drink.  
"What did you get me?" he asked with a curious smile as he took a sip. "Mmm, Butterbeer! Honestly, you know me far too well."

"Clearly." Malachi remarked from across from us, tossing his red hair out of his eyes momentarily before it fell back in front of his face. "Well, I'd best go find Tayber before he makes a fool of himself." He announced lightly as he stood and disappeared into the now dancing crowd. The music that was playing was old, yet classic wizarding music. One song I instantly recognized as it changed a moment later, and Scorpius's face lit up.

"Oh, I love this band!" he smiled brightly as he finished up his drink.

"They're so _old_ Scorpius! I think our parents danced to this when they were our age!" I laughed, taking a small sip of my drink.

"It's a classic! C'mon, you've got to admit you love The Weird Sisters! They're one of the best bands of all time in the wizarding world!" Scorpius defended with a small chuckle at my eye roll.

"Who_ are_ you, Malia? Are you going to tell me that you're related to the bass player?" I laughed. He made a face and elbowed me in the ribs.

"Well, thank God I didn't wear a dress shirt; I would have been way over-dressed." He remarked, scanning the room and noting that all the other boys were dressed similarly to him.

"You're welcome." I remarked smartly. He shot me a sideways glance, and then looked out into the crowd again.

"Why is Magnolia wearing such a tiny dress?" he asked, his tone sounding a little afraid. Sure enough, when I looked out into the crowd, I saw my dark-skinned roommate, still wearing the red nail polish Andréa gave her, tossing about her ebony hair to the music.

"I'm not sure, but I really thought that was a shirt when I first saw it... it doesn't cover very much, does it?" I said, cringing a little as she starting to dance with some boy that I didn't recognize

"Please don't tell me you dance like that." Scorpius remarked as he leaned back and sunk deeper into the couch. I laughed and flopped back in a similar manner against my half of the couch.

"Well I certainly would make sure I have more material covering me than either Magnolia or Malia do." I chuckled as he finished my drink and put it on the table beside me. "Can _you_ dance like that? Like I said, I've never seen you dance."

"Are you challenging me?" Scorpius laughed.

From over our shoulders, we heard the sharp laugh of Lysander, who leaned over and poked his head between ours. "I hate to say this, but I think Lilith would win." He smiled to Scorpius, who raised his one eyebrow in questioning.

"And how do you figure that?" he asked, crossing his arms slowly.

"I have the same question, actually." I giggled. I was very curious how they came to this conclusion, considering that neither of them had ever seen me try to mimic an action to music that might even _resemble_ dancing.

"Well, my father said that your mother was an _ok _dancer." Lysander started, clapping his hand on my shoulder chummily. "So if she could keep up with my dad, then I think it's safe to assume that you must have inherited some talent, eh?"

I stared at him for a moment, then burst out laughing. Not only did the thought of my mother dancing make me giggle, but the thought of Lysander's flamboyant father dancing with her was even more hilarious. "I'm sorry, did you say that _my_ mother could dance? I've never even seen her _walk_ with rhythm!" I continued to laugh.

"Perhaps she outgrew it?" Scorpius offered, a smug smirk on his lips. "_Or_ maybe she passed every ounce of her talent on to you?"Scorpius chuckled.

Lysander looked at me with his surprisingly green eyes, snickering at the scene. "Are you going to take that from someone with two left feet like him?" he edged me on. I smirked at him, then looked past him at Scorpius, who was still smirking contently.

"Let's just say that when a _good_ song from this century comes on, I'll show him a thing or two about dancing." I smirked.

Scorpius laughed and shook his head "What on earth do you have against The Weird Sisters? They're awesome!"

"Scorpius, this song is older than every student here!" Lysander laughed "I agree with Lilith; they need to play some modern music. And soon!" he signed, now leaning on the couch, still between Scorpius and I. "So have you two heard about Tayber's ingenious plan tonight?"

"Which one?" Scorpius rolled his eyes. He was just as annoyed with his antics as I was, and I'm sure he didn't want this night to end up with all of us in the Headmaster's office.

"The one where he's going to announce his feelings to some poor girl." Lysander explained absently.

"Why would he choose tonight of all nights to do it?" I pondered aloud. "Unless it's a 7th year, which would not make any sense for him... no girl near his age would be able to stand his immaturity."

"And what maturity level would you suggest he should look for in a girl?" Lysander laughed, nodding his head in agreement.

"Oh, I don't know. I think a 2nd or 3rd year would make a good match for him." I smirked. Scorpius laughed, as did Lysander, and I felt a quick pang of nostalgia. I was going to miss hanging out with them over the summer... Scorpius in particular.

At last, the music changed. Thankfully it was a more modern song as well. In fact, it was a brand new song by a witch named Sarah Sword. Malia hated her, saying that she had no talent, but everyone else loved the song.  
"Alright, you two _have _to get up now!" Lysander announced, jumping over the couch and was now standing in front of his, holding out his hands for us to take.

"Really? C'mon Zabini!" Scorpius protested.

"Are you going to give up that easily?" Lysander laughed. "You're not even going to try to prove yourself right?" He didn't answer; he just put on a stone cold expression that told us he had apparently made up his mind. But I knew how easily he could be persuaded...

"Hype, I dressed you up for this! I want you to have fun with us!" I said with a small pout as I stood up and joined Lysander. Together, where stared at Scorpius with puppy-dog eyes until finally, after an annoyed sigh, he gave in and followed us onto the now packed dance floor.

At first, I wasn't sure if Lysander was actually going to make us dance. When we found space on the dance floor, he initially twirled me around with one arm and then nodded his head to someone off in the distance. Then, like he was hugging me from behind, he leaned very close to me, gently guiding me with the music. I couldn't help but laugh; dancing with Lysander was like being a puppet! I didn't have to think or try to follow because he had it all under control.  
Now Scorpius had caught up with us, and gave us one very curious glance, then chuckled in amusement. "You do realize that she looks terrified and confused?" he laughed to Lysander.

"Are you going to let him say that about your dance skills?" my old friend mused from beside my right ear. "I would never let someone with so little coordination as _him_ tell me that I can't dance."

"That's because you _can_ dance." Scorpius quipped back, then focused his teasing eyes on mine. "Lilith would be lucky if she could walk for 2 minutes without tripping." He stuck his tongue out at me. My face instantly turned into one of not-so-mock insult.

"Excuse me!" I said with an indignant voice but a not-so-serious face. "I have yet to see you dance. C'mon, get moving!" I demanded, still absently moving with Lysander, who was laughing at our challenges.

"I do not respond to commands, Lilith." Scorpius said stiffly.

"Don't make me say your full name!" I threatened with a smirk.

Lysander, who had now stopped dancing with me, stepped between us and laughed. "I'll leave you two to figure this out. I'll be right back." He said with a smirk, and then continued to walk, disappearing into the crowd.

Now Scorpius and I were staring at each other, I with my arms crossed, still challenging him with my eyes to prove to me that he could dance. "I'm still waiting."

"You want to dance by myself?" Scorpius asked smartly. I chuckled and rolled my eyes at his excuses. I opened my mouth to call him out, but it was just then that the music abruptly stopped.

"Just a quick announcement before the next song." I heard a seventh year, who I could not put a name to, announcing loudly. "That the punch is officially spiked."  
I had at first expected a mass of people to gasp in shock. But when I saw almost half the dance floor vacate in the direction of the punch fountain, I chuckled with mild surprise.

"Want some?" Scorpius asked me as he moved out of the way of one of the Ravenclaw girls, racing forward like it was gold.

"Sure, if you're going that way." I smiled, shaking my head slowly. "And then you'll dance?"

"Yeah, sure." He laughed as he disappeared into the crowd.

I was now standing in a fairly depleted dance floor, looking around for someone I knew to talk to. There was still no music playing again, so everyone was just standing about, talking loudly to each other.  
"Quite the party, eh?" Andréa mused from beside me, making me jump a little.

"Yeah, I'll say. Who spiked the punch?" I replied lightly, shifting uncomfortably amongst the mass of people.

"Who cares! It's going to make this night very interesting, isn't it?" Andréa laughed, tossing her blonde hair over her shoulder. "Everyone gets more social and active when they've been drinking. I dare say even Felix might get up and dance if he drinks."

"Oh God, please no!" I laughed with her. "Well, maybe he'll find a nice Hufflepuff to dance with him." I added. She now laughed heartedly and took another sip of her neon green drink.

The music started back up. There was a loud, unison scream of joy as everyone registered what song it was. In an instant, the dance floor was once again packed.  
"Oh, I love this song!" Andréa yelled over the crowd, tossing her drink over her shoulder and grabbing my hands so I had to dance with her.

"Honestly, who doesn't!?" I laughed. This song had been the number one song in Witch Weekly for the past 4 months, and had been broadcast over the wizard radio almost non-stop since Christmas. And yet, none of us were sick of it! It was one of those rare songs that you could hear over and over, and everyone would agree that it was good. The band was called Twin Moons, and this was their 3rd consecutive hit, entitled 'The Eyes I Will Follow'. The song, according to Witch Weekly's music correspondent, was written about the drummer's near-stalker attempts to get his wife to marry him. She was said to have the most beautiful eyes in the world, with a colour that no one could match... or at least, that's what the song said. Needless to say, I was convinced that it would be hard pressed to find a witch or wizard under the age of 20 that didn't know this song off by heart.

The dance floor was more crammed that ever of students jumping and bobbing in time with the music. It wasn't a song that people like Magnolia could dance to, since it had more of an old rock-and-roll field, like The Weird Sisters did before they all retired. I laughed as I danced with Andréa, who sang along to all the lyrics of the song. I only joined in for the chorus, as did the rest of the people who were dancing.

"_Just go ahead and turn away, I'll follow you anyways!_" I sang along with everyone else "_Because if I try and stay, my mind and body wilt away. That's why, yeah that's why I'll follow your eyes! Yeah, your eyes. The ones that call my name in my dreams, God it makes me want to scream! So just let me gaze into your eyes, yeah your eyes!_"

"Sounds a bit like the guy's gone mad." Lysander laughed, reappearing out of the crowd.

"So what? It's a fantastic song!" I laughed, spinning with Andréa. Lysander joined us in our dance, all while giving me a strange look. "What are you looking at?" I asked him, my eyebrows furrowed in confusion a little. He laughed and shrugged.

"You dancing, I think." He smirked. I playfully smacked him on his shoulder, and continued to jump to the beat with the rest of the crowd.

"God, you would think this was a live band the way these girls are acting..." Scorpius grumbled as he returned with my drink through the packed crowd. "Here you go." He said quietly as he handed me my neon orange drink. I took a quick sniff, then took a small sip. I felt my face contort at how sour it was, but I wasn't about to complain about having free alcohol.

"If this was live, I don't think we'd be able to get away with having this little party." Lysander smirked.

"Not unless Malia could somehow sneak them into the school with her _fantastic_ connections." Oliver replied smartly. We all laughed at our usual jab to our housemate.

I saw Lysander mouthing something to someone behind me. I was about to turn around and see who it was, but he grabbed my attention first. "Lilith, come here for a moment." He said, motioning for me to come forward.

I did it cautiously, but apparently not enough. In a flash, just as the bridge of my favourite song was starting, all the lights except for the one directly above my head went out, making me stand out in the room of hundreds of people. And to make matters worse, Zabini had now acted like the snake he was and slithered out of my hands, leaving me standing like a lost child in a crowd. Frozen in confusion, I wasn't sure what to do. I had thought about running, but I knew that it would only bring more attention to myself.

Two seconds later, I wished I had taken the chance and run.

Across the room, on top of one of the couches, Tayber was standing up, tall and proud under his own spot light, with what appeared to be a microphone, singing along to the song... and staring right at me.

"_Your eyes I will follow. Until I die, I will follow._" He sang along to the song, much to the amusement of the entire crowd and my mortifying embarrassment. I could feel my face burning so red that I must have looked like a tomato... "_Your eyes... yeah, your eyes... I will follow!_" he sang, gradually getting louder with the music. I could feel my jaw dropped practically to the floor in shock; it had now dawned on me that I was apparently his now not-so-secret crush... As the song starting to crescendo back into the chorus, the crowd seemed to either pity me or had enough of the display, and flooded back in around me. The light above my head dimmed as all the others turned back on. And in the blink of an eye, Tayber had disappeared from his platform, leaving me standing like a mute in the middle of a crowd of people, all snickering and giggling at me.

"Well that was entertaining, wasn't it?" Lysander laughed in hysterics with Andréa, Oliver, and Malachi, who no doubt had something to do with this as well. I gave them a dark glare, and felt my face get even redder.

"C'mon, I think you need another drink..." Scorpius suggested in a very non-cryptic manner, grabbing my arm and guiding me out of the snake pit known as my Slytherin housemates. He purposely took the long way around, avoiding the couch where Tayber had been standing. I didn't say anything, as I was trying to keep my face hidden from my classmates, all of whom were having a great laugh at my expense. I had vastly underestimated Tayber's sense of decency, and I was certain that I would never forgive him for embarrassing me like this...

"Thank you, Hype." I mumbled quietly as I took the drink he handed me. We were now standing before the almost empty punch bowl, staring awkwardly at the drinks in our hands. I certainly didn't want to talk about what had just happened... but at the same time, I wanted_ someone_ to acknowledge how horrifying that was for me!

"So... I guess Tayber likes you..." Scorpius started with a small smirk tugging involuntarily at his lips. I knew he, like everyone else in the room, found all of this absolutely hilarious.

"Not kidding... Can you pour me another?" I asked quietly, handing my cup to him again. He nodded and scooped up another drink for me. As soon as it was back in my hand, I tipped its contents into my mouth and handed it back to him for another refill.

"Trying to make yourself forget?" Scorpius mused as he poured me another.

"No, I just want to not care that the entire room is not snickering to themselves about me." I answered before I poured my new drink into my mouth and handed the cup back again to Scorpius.

"It wasn't _that_ bad, Lilith." Scorpius told me, not pouring me my drink just yet because he had hoped to convince me that I didn't need it.

"Sure, Hype. Having someone single you out in front of all the senior years in the school, and confessing their feelings through a popular song isn't embarrassing in the slightest." I replied sarcastically. He blinked in confusion, so I nodded towards the punch bowl as my clarification.

"I don't think getting drunk by yourself is a good idea, Lilsy." Scorpius sighed as he scooped up the last cupful of the drink. Instantaneously, the punch bowl refilled itself with the same potent-smelling alcoholic drink.

"You could join me if you'd like." I offered with a small smile, thanking him for the drink. He took a sip of his own drink and then stared down into the cup as he debated my suggestion.

"I've never understood the point of getting so intoxicated that you act like a fool, personally." He explained, more to himself than me.

"It's a chance to relax, have fun, and forget all your worries and problems... or so I'm told." I replied lightly as I gently lifted my drink to my lips again and took a slower sip this time.

"Who told you that?" Scorpius asked as I saw him sneak another glass from the punch bowl.

"My mother." I replied simply. "I mean, I've never seen her have so much as a glass of wine, but I suspect that my parents had their days... as they expect we are at this age."

"My parents would be surprised if I didn't socialize the same as everyone else." Scorpius laughed. "The last thing my parents would ever want is for me to stand out in a crowd for the wrong reasons."

"Well, I may not be a crowd, but I think I'm more important to you than any Potter or Weasley kid is, right?" I pointed out lightly. He looked at me and chuckled, shaking his head slowly. Then, with a sigh, he looked down into the now full glass, then followed my pattern of drinking the contents down, and refilling it instantly. I smiled and did the same right after him.

"To celebrating the last nights our dwindling childhood." Scorpius offered, holding up his cup for me to cheers with him.

"May they last as long as they can...for you, at least." I smiled, tapping my glass to his, then we both proceeded to chug our drinks. Seeing as my birthday was in the beginning of May, I had turned 17 (much to my dismay) over a month ago; Scorpius's birthday wasn't until the middle of August.  
Scorpius made a face like the drink was sour, then turned and refilled it. "Are you going to try and come visit me this summer?" he asked as he stirred his new drink absently with a straw.

"I'll try..." I sighed. "I'm an adult now, so I can try to play that card. But my parents are pretty strict when it comes to leaving the house. It's like I'm a wanted fugitive or something!"

"Well, then try to be on your best behaviour, because I want to have a big birthday party at my house this year, and I want you to come this time." He told me, looking around the room at the scene of dancing and drinking teens. "Hopefully not_ this_ insane, but similar to this."

"Well, in that case, my parents can try to keep me away... cage me in the basement if they want, but I'll be there." I smiled. "Especially if you make drinks like these! These are so yum!" I laughed as I pour another one. I had yet to feel anything close to drunk yet, but I could only imagine that when I did, it was going to be quite the adventure...

**_AN: YAY!  
So the song that this chapter was inspired by (a.k.a the one that Tayber sings) is "I Will Follow" by U2. One of my absalute fav songs!_**

I will try and update this as soon as I can! I really REALLY should update my other fic, and try and get my new one finished up so I can post it... but in the mean time, just sit tight :)

REVIEW PLEASE :D


	3. Chapter 3

**_AN: Hey guys! Sorry I took so long to update! Really I am! But now I'm living in my new house, and 90% unpacked, so it means I can now resume my writing!!_**

Anyways, enjoy this chapter. Got a small, contraversial scene in it, but it's only for this chapter... it won't be permanent!!

  
By the time 2am rolled around, I could barely tell friend from foe, person from plant, or up from down. Clearly my inexperience with alcohol was showing, and at last I understood what the phrase 'pace yourself' meant.  
"Hype, can you walk straight?" I shouted across the couch at my also very intoxicated best friend, who was staring at the ceiling like it was trying to spell out a message to him.

"Where on earth do you get brick that colour!? It's _blue_!" he said, clearly in complete awe of what he was seeing.

"Since when do you care?" I laughed, sinking further into the couch we had stumbled to about an hour ago. Much to my surprise, the party was still going strong. All around us, there were students, all at different levels of intoxication, who were dancing, conversing, or making out with one another. Some all at once. Thankfully, Scorpius and I had managed to find a seat that was vacant, where we were now trying to come to terms with our current condition.

"I don't suppose you want to go dance again?" Scorpius sighed, like it was his duty to dance with me. I looked at him, then laughed heartily at the thought of the pair of us trying to dance.

"Dancing right now would probably be a bad idea..." I slurred as I closed my eyes for a moment. "Truthfully, all I want to do is get to sleep."

"And truthfully, I don't exactly know where we are right now... was this room 5 floors _up_ or 5 floors _down_?" he pondered aloud, rubbing his forehead with the palm of his hand, like he thought that if he warmed his head up a bit the information he needed would come back to him.

"Thank Goodness there are two of us to navigate then!" I smiled brightly as I slowly got up from the couch, at point grasping the arm for support as my body threatened to faint if I made another sudden movement like that. Once I regained my balance, I nudged Scorpius in the leg with my knee, grabbing his attention from the ceiling above. "Shall we venture back to the common room then? This party is starting to get boring." I asked, holding out my arm more for support than guidance. Not surprising, he looked at me curiously before he grabbed onto my tiny hand with his mammoth paw in comparison, and pulled himself up so he was standing beside me.

"Alright, let's get out of here. I'm tired of watching everyone slowly working their way towards fornication." He sighed, still holding my hand as he started to stumble towards the door that we came through. Although this door was easy to find, I prayed that it was not so easy to see (or hear) the other side from within the school walls.

Trying to find our way back to the Slytherin common room that night was quite the adventure. We ended up getting lost in our own school about 4 times before we realized that we were somehow traveling up, rather than down. Of course, our current blood alcohol levels were not helping the situation either.  
"Why weren't you watching how we got here when we were sober? It would have made our lives so much easier." Scorpius hissed as we tried to run as silently as we could down the highest corridor of Hogwarts. I didn't even know a floor was up this high, but when we looked out one of the windows and saw that we were almost in line with the top floor of the astronomy tower, we knew that we were farther away than ever from our house.

"I don't see why it was _my_ responsibility to figure out how to get back!" I whispered back, rolling my eyes as we started back down the seemingly endless flight of stairs. "Had I known that, I would have drawn out a map _before_ we started drinking." I now added with sarcasm.

"Hey, it would be pretty handy right now." Scorpius remarked, turning back and giving me a witty smirk. Of course, the moment he took his eyes off the path he was traveling, he lost his balance and missed the last 3 steps on the flight of stairs, and instantly tumbled forward onto the landing.

"HYPE!" I called out probably a little too loudly, since I could hear it echoing off the portraits and stone walls within the gigantic stairwell. I ran forward and knelt down beside him, making sure that he wasn't knocked out or bleeding. "Are you okay!?" I asked, my voice frantic with worry and fear that we may now be caught for sure.

"Oh yeah, I'm perfect. Nothing better than a big bruise on your head to tell your mother and father about when you step off the train tomorrow..." he muttered, chuckling silently to himself.

"Well, I'm sure Lysander will tell you that you can't even tell the difference." I smirked, brushing aside his blonde bangs so I could see if he truely was injured. "I don't see anything yet... Maybe your body stopped your face from getting hurt."

"Well the headache that is starting to throb in my skull tells me it was the other way around..." he groaned as he winced in pain as he cracked his neck a little, apparently realigning it. "That, or my body is telling me _never_ to drink again."

"I'm going to go for option B." I smiled, standing up again and nearly falling down the flight of stairs behind me. But luckily, despite his injury, Scorpius' hand shot out with superhuman reflexes and caught my wrist. "Oh, there are some stairs behind me apparently." I giggled as I took two steps away from them.

"You can thank me later, I guess." He said with no emotion I could understand. He now stood up, once again holding my hand as support. "Alright, we need to find the common room... Where are we?"

I looked around, trying to find some sort of landmark in the paintings around us that would clue us in. When I saw nothing familiar, I turned to the nearest portrait and cleared my throat loudly beside it. "Um, excuse me? Can you help us please?"

The portrait awoke with a start, snorting a little at my startling him. He looked straight ahead for a moment, squinting his eyes as he apparently tried to focus, then gave me a dark glare. "What on earth do you want!? Do you know what time it is? Shouldn't you be in-"

"We know, we know; we should be in bed." I slurred, almost annoyed by all his questions. "Look, we'll leave you alone, but we just need to know which way to the dungeons."

"Oh, I'll tell you! Just as soon as you tell me which house you're in so I can have a word with your head of house! Really, a girl like you out and about at this time of night? And on the last night of school? One can only imagine what _you've_ been up to."

"I'm in Sly-" At this point Scorpius stepped on my foot, and interrupted with 'Hufflepuff' in his best impression of my voice... which was apparently pretty close.

"Hufflepuff eh? Well, I expected more from someone of that house!" the old man replied like he was about to go off on a rant.

"So can you tell me how to get back? I fear I may pass out if I don't eat something soon. And that will mean someone will find me, and start asking you questions, and then you'll have to tell the head master what you saw, and then-"

"Alright, alright, I'll tell you! Just please, leave me alone so I can get back to sleep!" The portrait agreed reluctantly, giving a dramatic yawn to push his point. "Go to the end of that hallway, then turn right. Behind the painting of giant sea shell, there is a spiral staircase that will take you right down to the kitchens. That's the fastest way back." The old man explained. "What's your name again, Missy?"

"Thank you Sir! I'll let you get back to your sleep now!" I called to him as I started to walk away, Scorpius in tow. I could hear him protesting that I didn't answer his question, but I ignored him.

Stumbling down the dark hallway, dimly lit by the moonlight through a stained glass window of a witch stirring her cauldron, Scorpius and I were trying to keep our eyes and ears wide open so that we could spot a teacher coming, just in case the man in the portrait kept to his word and alerted a teacher. Thankfully, we reached the painting he told us without anyone catching us. Scorpius reached behind the painting and gave it a gentle tug, revealing the very staircase that apparently no one had used in centuries.  
"Oh God, I think I'd rather risk getting caught!" Scorpius said, taking two steps back from the cobweb covered, dusty, very abandon looking spiral steps that looked like they drilled down 1000 feet.

"Don't chicken out on me now! We need to get back to the common room!" I protested, stepping aside so he could go first. Scorpius looked at me like I was insane, but when he heard a sound coming from the entrance of the hallway, he knew that we had no other choice. He stepped right onto the top step, where I joined him shortly after, and closed the painting behind us.

"Lilith?" Scorpius whispered, creating a light at the end of his wand so we could try and see where we were going. Right as I looked up to find his face, I saw the sign that he was facing. There, on a piece of old parchment that looked like it was as old as the school, that said in large, gothic letters 'Staff corridor only'.

"That can't be good..." I whispered quietly.

At that moment, the stairs beneath us jerked forward, and the spiral staircase suddenly became a spiral slide. And Scorpius and I now found ourselves speeding faster and faster towards the bottom, screaming in fear for our lives.

I had heard that this sort of magic existed in the girls' dormitory in the Gryffindor house, but I didn't know anyone who had experienced this trick. In Slytherin, the slope up to the dorms was so gradual that it was more similar to that of slipping down a small hill in the winter. It was nothing like plummeting towards the dungeons on a high-speed slide as this was! As I saw the last window fly over my head after the first 30 spins in the circle downward, I closed my eyes and waited for something to stop us... like a potential stone wall of the cold dungeons I was no longer eager to find. Scorpius was attempting to use his feet as breaks against the slippery stone walls, but only succeeded in turning around and kicking me in the side in the process. I swore in pain, but then found myself with wide eyes of fear at the large, very solid looking wall dead ahead.

"Oh, this is going to suck!" I shouted as I too now tried to stop my body from slamming into the incoming barrier. As the dark, ominous bricks drew closer and closer, we both let out louder screams and closed our eyes tight. I had never experienced anything truly painful before... or at least nothing that I could imagine would feel like being hurtled into a wall. But I had a feeling it wasn't going to be fun.

Just as I felt the ground flatten out at the bottom of this staircase of death, the smooth, slippery floor turned straight up, and after a brief moment of floating in mid-air, both Scorpius and I landed flat on our backs. After a brief moment of shock from the pain, I opened my eyes and found myself staring at the cold, dripping ceiling.

"Well... that was fun." Scorpius coughed, trying to jumpstart his lungs after having the wind knocked out of them.

"Speak for yourself." I laughed with what strained air I could squeeze out of my chest. "I think I've had enough fun to last me for a while now." I snickered quietly as I sat up and fixed my clothes. As I had figured, the slip-and-slide short cut we had just survived had caused my clothes to ride up and twist around so that they looked more like underwear than clothing.

"Well, at least that crazy old man was right about one thing." Scorpius sighed as he pulled himself up into a standing position. "We're in the dungeons again."

"A small consolation for plummeting down countless stories, right?" I remarked, knowing from his expression that he was about as amused with this adventure as I was. He glanced over his shoulder and smirked at me.

"At least my clothes didn't get torn and displaced in the process." He teased me. I just stuck my tongue out at him, then passed him as I made my way down the hallway.

A few moments later, we were past the Hufflepuff dorms and the kitchens, and were just on our way to the Slytherin dorm at last, when we heard a far too familiar voice that reminded me of a squawking crow.  
"...It doesn't matter if it's their last night in the school! They are not supposed to be out of bed past 10 o'clock!"

"Oh shit, it's Professor Lundstone!" Scorpius hissed, grabbing my hand and pulling me behind one of the ancient old suits of armour that was propped up against the wall. Trying to stay as silent as we could, we prayed that the watchdog of the teaching staff didn't walk our way.

"Well, you have a point, Ludmilla, but they are most of them adults now. Surely one night of fun won't destroy the place."

"It's the principle, Carmella, not the rules themselves! How are we supposed to enforce the rules on the younger, more impressionable students? Before you know it, the place will be filled with party animals and hooligans!"  
Scorpius gave me a sideways glance, and I couldn't help but force myself to stifle a loud snicker. It was not a secret that Ludmilla Lundstone was a stickler for trying to keep all the students innocent and law abiding, so that they could leave as 'contributing, positive citizens for the wizarding world'. Every Slytherin always got a good crack at that. As we tried very hard to stay silent, we hoped that the two professors would soon continue on, and let us run the remaining and consequently short distance between us and our house.

"Well, I can't imagine that we're going to find anyone down here at this time of the night. Surely they've all snuck back into their dorms by now, or they've all been caught upstairs." Professor Arran suggested lightly. "Why don't we go join the other teachers and see how we are to divide the punishment between a bunch of 7th years who graduate tomorrow." She added with a bit of sarcasm hidden in her tone.

"Many of the children claim that there were countless others, all of whom I'm sure are running about the school as we speak! If we cannot catch all of them, then I'd wager my priceless text books from Merlin himself that we will be up there every night, kicking rebellious kids out of there trying to follow the example of their elders!"

"You have a point, Ludmilla, but I am really too tired right now to even consider next year. Let's just go report what we've found down here to the Headmaster, and get back to bed." Arran yawned as she started to walk away from her over-zealous co-worker. It only took Scorpius a few seconds to realize that they were now walking towards us, and he rammed my body right against the wall with his, attempting to minimize our chance of being caught.

"If we don't get some harsher punishments coming in soon, we may as well just encourage them to run about like heathens! They never listen to us as it is..." Lundstone complained under her breath as they passed the suit of armor that we were hiding behind. My heart was pounding for the fear of being caught by the watchers on duty. But once they were out of sight, and far out of our range, i could still hear my pulse beating in my head. It only took me a moment to realize that Scorpius was still pressed up against me, shielding me from sight and yet pinning me to the wall. I let out a sharp sigh of relief, but I also thought that I might faint, and hoped to make my ailment known.

"That was close!" Scorpius laughed, not moving away yet. I could feel my face burning bright red with the embarrassment I was feeling. I was sure that he could feel my heart racing and my breathing getting shallower and more forced. The rush of being out with him this late, potentially getting into this much trouble, was now equally matched by how close we were standing right now. "Well, let's get moving before they come back for another check." He suggested, flashing me one of his bright smiles and gently taking my wrist, guiding me towards the passage to the common room. Thank goodness he had taken my hand as well, or otherwise I may have just slid down the wall that was supporting me, and day-dreamed for the rest of the night and early morning about standing that close to him forever.

When we entered the common room, we found it deserted. Scorpius exchanged a puzzled look, and glanced over at the couches to see if anyone had been passed out behind the over-stuffed black leather cushions. He looked back at me and shrugged. Apparently everyone from our house had either already gone to bed, or had all been caught in the raid by the teachers.

"Well, I guess this is goodnight." I smiled crookedly. "Looks like we may have the entire dorms to ourselves, since it appears the rest of our classmates have yet to return."

"You may have a point indeed. And what a relief it will be to sleep without hearing the mumbling of Tayber in his sleep." Scorpius said, flashing me a devious smirk that made me frown in disapproval. "I'm glad that I now know what he pines for in his sleep, aren't you?" he teased me, stepping forward and jumping up on one of the tables used for studying, mimicking the way Tayber had singled me out and sang to me some sick, perversion of a confession that he liked me. I rolled my eyes and shoved Scorpius backwards, causing him to jump off the table or risk falling off it.

"Don't remind me of that, Hype!" I growled sharply. "Whatever would possess a boy to do that to a girl he apparently likes is beyond me; how could he think I would respond any differently than I did!?" I grumbled, crossing my arms and sitting on one of the wooden chairs, feeling my face burn red with embarrassment again just remembering all the faces staring and snickering at me for the rest of the night.

"Aww, don't tell me you're going to let him get to you like that!" Scorpius laughed, walking over to stand just off to my left. "You know that's exactly what he wants you to do, right?"

"Well, if you have any suggestions of what else I can do, I'm open to hear them." I sniffed a quick laugh, then stared down at the floor. How I wish I could smack that boy right now! If Tayber had any normal, human manners, he would have at least given her some indication of his feelings _before _trying to mortify her!

"C'mon, I have something for you." Scorpius chuckled, holding out his hand for me to take. I looked at it curiously, then at him, trying to read his face and figure out what on earth he could want to give me. "I have your exam notes, remember? I figure you'd want to read them over the summer, right?" I could only nod my head in response; he knew me far too well.

I tried to follow him with as little noise as possible, careful to walk on the outer edges of the stairs that no one walked on so that they wouldn't creak. The hallway was dimly lit from above by the bright full moon's light filtering down through the green water of the Black Lake. I was always amazed as to how gorgeous the water could make this dark and damp dungeons look. My mother had always remarked that the light cast through the water often helped soothe her to sleep after a long and stressful day in class, and I found that it did the same for me. The thought that I only had one year remaining at Hogwarts was now starting to weigh heavy in my mind.  
We reached the 6th year Boys' dorm room, and I couldn't help but check my pulse and breathing again. Sure, I'd been up here a million and one times since we had first become friends, but not in the middle of the night! And once he opened the door and revealed a very empty looking room, lacking it's other occupants, I felt my nerves skyrocket.

"I guess that answers our question, doesn't it?" Scorpius remarked, smirking in my direction. When I returned his expression with a blank stare, he added "They must have all been caught up at the dance."

"Oh right!" I added, giggling awkwardly. Right now, despite the endless amounts of teasing that would have occurred if the boys had seen me here with Scorpius, I was almost praying for one of them to pop up and break the awkward tension that I could feel brewing in my mind. "We should have brought more of them with us when we left..." I added, trailing off as I stepped in the room, and he closed the door behind me.

"What, and let them get us caught? You must still be drunk, Lilsy." Scorpius laughed heartily, no longer worried about disturbing anyone or being caught. "Lysander himself would have surely caught the attention of that bloodhound Lundstone!" he remarked as he collapsed backwards onto his bed, which let out a loud groan at the abuse. After a loud sigh, he remarked aloud "I am so glad to be going home tomorrow... give myself a break from this place!"

"I'm sure your bed agrees." I remarked smartly. Scorpius lifted his head and stuck his tongue out at me, showing his defiance.

"I do hope you'll try to come visit me this summer, despite all the troubles your parents give you." He said in a much calmer, more friendly tone that she had been used to.

"You and me both! I'll start working on them as soon as I get home, I promise." I remarked as I crossed the room and sat on the edge of Lysander's bed, careful not to disturb the covers. "But you know how they are...stubborn and mysterious as ever."

"Well, you're an adult, right? Use that to your advantage!" he said dramatically, sitting up so he was now sitting directly across from me.

"I might just have too." I giggled at the antics he was showing off right now. He always knew how to make me laugh, no matter how serious the subject was. There was an awkward pause for a moment, and then after I cleared my throat in an inconspicuous manner, asked if I could have my study notes back.

"Oh yeah, sorry! Totally forgot why you were up here for a moment!" he laughed as he reached under his bed and pulled out his trunk. He shuffled around for a few moments, and then produced a large, messy pile of paper that did not resemble the condition I had given them to him only 3 days before. "Here we are!"

"Are you joking!?" I let out a short laugh as I took the papers from his hand. "What did you _do_ to these! They were perfect before! Now they're torn, tattered and covered in what looks like pumpkin juice!"

"What? You know I'm not your average study-buddy!" he remarked smartly. "At least I didn't throw them out like I did last year." I was instantly brought back to a similar scene last year when he had been forced to admit that he had thrown out over 2 years of History of Magic notes because he thought that they were old Daily Prophet papers taking up space in his trunk.

"I would be forced to beat you again if you did!" I remarked sourly as I tried to tidy the pages that he had so carelessly handled for the past few days.

"Beat me? What on earth are you talking about!?" he remarked with a laugh. "How did you _beat_ me?"

"May I remind you of the large bruise I gave you on your shoulder last year? And your mother inquired as to what boy you had been fighting with on the train?" I said in a flat but calm voice, patronizingly bringing him back to reality. His smile faded and he pouted a little for a moment.

"If you weren't a girl, I would have fought back..." he grumbled, crossing his arms like a spoiled child. I rolled my eyes and turned to walk away, but he caught me by the sides and began to tickle me. I shrieked out of surprise and from the sensation of being attacked so suddenly. He was fortunate to know my only ticklish spot, which happened to reside between my ribs and my hips.

"See! I can beat you! Just in a not-so-violent way!" he laughed as he wrestled me over from the floor and onto what I thought was the floor. "Surrender! Come on, say it! You know I can do this all day!" he laughed as he dug his fingers harder into my sides. After I let out one last shrill squeal of laughter, I instantly called surrender, thus giving up and calling for a truce. As I waited for both our breathing and heart rates to slow down, I opened my eyes and realized that I was in fact not lying on the floor, but on his bed. I now knew I had no hope for slowing down my pulse for the next hour or so...

"You're a cheater." I managed to stammer out as I tried not to give my current predicament away. Thankfully, Scorpius laughed and sat upright again, looking back at me, still panting from his surprise attack.

"I never said I didn't fight dirty." I teased, then got up from the bed on the opposite side of me, and walked around to help me up. In the process of his tickling, I had thrown my study notes in the air as I tried to get away from him, which he now did me the favour of picking them up and handing them to me. "Here you are, as promised."

"Thanks Hype." I chuckled, standing up and fixing my shirt again. I saw him staring at me, and I instantly felt a little awkward having him watching me like that. "What?" I asked, the awkward laugh trying to escape my throat as I spoke.

"Nothing." He replied instantly, looking away from whatever he was staring at, and down at the floor for a moment. He looked back up again as he waited for my reply.

"You were staring at me! Why?" I asked, stilling finding it hard not to let the awkward giggle that was catching in my throat come out in its full form.

"What, I can't look at you to make sure you look decent before you walk out the door?" he replied unevenly, running his fingers through his white blonde hair, shaking his head slowly at me. "Are you really that disconcerened with your appearance?"

"Must you always blame your behaviour on me?" I laughed, standing from the bed, shaking my head at him.

"I can't help it; your influence is too powerful on me." He remarked with a small shrug.

"Be sure to tell the Wizengamot that when they arrest you someday. 'My best friend was such an influence on me, I didn't know what was happening!'" I teased him, slipping past him with a small eye roll. "Goodnight Hype." I remarked lightly once I turned away and was slowly walking towards the door, study notes in hand. A few seconds after I had expected to hear a reply, I heard Scorpius call me back.

"You forgot something!" he added with a strange voice. I rolled me eyes and turned on my heel, only to find him no longer standing over by his bed, but right behind me. He was so graceful that I barely heard him sneak up behind me!

"What?" I asked, my expression both confused and doubtful at the same time. There was a moment of silence where he just looked down at me from his taller height, just staring at me again. Then, after a deep sigh, like he was about to dive off a cliff, he leaned his head in and before I knew what was happening, I felt his lips pressed against mine.

At first I didn't know what to do! I thought that perhaps he had had tried to whisper something to me, but somehow missed my ear and hit my lips instead. I had half a mind to pull away and say sorry, but when I realized that he wasn't moving, and that he wasn't apologizing, he most definitely was kissing me! Now my nerves were no longer about whether or not I looked like a fool to him; now I was more concerned about whether or not he thought I was a good kisser! I had never kissed anyone in my life! In fact, I had secretly hoped that it would someday be him, but I had never bothered to listen or partake in any of the horrid discussions that I often heard my roommates whispering to each other at bedtime. Now, for a brief moment of anxiety, I wished I had! But once I let the fact in that Scorpius was indeed snogging me, I found that he apparently knew exactly what he was doing, and I didn't have to think or worry about anything; he was taking care of it all.

Like a wild beast being release from its cage, there was suddenly so much passion and feverish desire released between us that someone watching may have thought we looked like reunited lovers, seeing each other after a long absence. I didn't know what Scorpius was thinking, but I knew what my motives behind my actions were at that moment. I had wanted him for so long, having watched him grow up and mature into the handsome man that he was today, all while hoping that although we were practically like twins when it came to taste and thoughts, that someday he would see me as an ideal girlfriend. I knew, of course, that he had to be attracted to me first. And until this moment, I didn't think he had any feelings for me except for plutonic ones that plagued me in the friend category. But now, as he pulled me tighter into my first passionate embrace, I felt all my bottled fantasies escape my psyche. I wasn't sure how we had gotten back over to his bed, but once again we were on it, and without having to worry about falling over as we snogged, the heat started to pick up faster and faster.

Since I had never made out with anymore before... let alone kissed anyone before, I wasn't sure what was happening. But out of fear of being awkward or ruining the moment, I didn't protest against anything that Scorpius did. I mean, after all, I had waited long enough for this; I didn't want to spoil my first encounter with my true emotions. So since I wanted to do anything and everything with him, I figured it would be the fast track to having my dreams come true. I felt warm hands on my bare skin where he had only minutes before been tickling me, and despite the shivers from the sensation I got, I didn't stop kissing him for one moment. I could feel those same hands moving higher and higher, towards the one obsession that every guy at Hogwarts had. For one brief moment, I felt like stopping him, telling him to wait just a minute while I caught my breath, but I pushed my warnings aside and silenced them... just for another minute or two.

Of course, almost immediately after I had decided _not_ to stop him, the loud banging outside the door leading to the hallway, telling us that those who had been caught at the party were now returning. At the exact same moment, Scorpius and I stopped out passionate embrace, looked at each other, and upon reading the identical message in the other's eyes, quickly parted and started to straighten ourselves out. Just as I was picking up the papers that I had been lured into the room to get, I could hear Tayber, very drunk and very loud, singing and shouting from what sounded like the other side of the door. Looking back at Scorpius with a look in my eyes that said 'please don't make me go out there', he smiled and threw me one of his baggy Slytherin Quidditch sweaters, which I pulled over my head. Quietly sneaking up behind me again, he pulled the hood over my hair and face, to help my feeble disguise until I could at least get over to the girls side of the dorm. I gave him one shy smile from beneath the hood, which as I expected, was returned with a light, but none the less romantic, kiss on my lips again.

"Save me a seat on the train tomorrow." Scorpius whispered as he reached past me, brushing his arm along my side as he opened the door and guided me out, careful to avoid any obvious attention. I gave him a quick nod as a good bye, and then with my head down, I snuck past all my drunken classmates, the vomit covered floors, and the incoming teacher who was about to instruct them to once again go to their dorms.

Once out of the boys half of the house, I was able to remove my hood and casually sneak the rest of the way up to my dorm room, which although it sounded abandon, was not. The girls had all passed out in or near their respective beds, say for me. I tiptoed past Malia, who was passed out face first on the floor near the end of my bed, and climbed into bed, still wearing my clothes and the sweater Scorpius had given me. There, breathing in the scent of who I knew was my soul mate, in every way shape or form, I felt into the most blissful sleep I had ever experienced.

**_AN: Remember kids! The more you review, the faster I write!! So give me some of your thoughts!! And don't worry, incest will NOT be a running theme in this story!! lol_**

REVIEW SI VOUS PLEZ!!


	4. Chapter 4

**_AN: WOW! SO SORRY I TOOK SO LONG TO UPDATE! I've been very busy working this summer... But! here it is! Enjoy!!!_**

The next morning flew past in a blur. All the girls woke up in a hung over haze that could almost be seen floating in the air. The dorm stank of perfume, vomit, and alcohol. More than once, I had to stop myself from retching up whatever was left in my stomach from the night before as I breathed in the stench of a wild party the night before.

"Merlin, that party got way out of control..." Vanessa muttered as she and her sister both climbed out of their respective beds and began to toss their stained and stinking clothes into their trunks. Talia, upon watching her sister kick her trunk closed, took the opportune moment to look at her watch, which she instantly panicked.

"Oh shit, it's 10:30! The train leaves in half an hour!" she shouted. Her sister, along with Malia and Andréa, who had been drearily stirring in their sleep, all shouted back in shock.

"I haven't even finished packing my clothes!" Malia shouted as she jumped from the floor, almost hitting her head on the footboard of a nearby bed.

At this point, as all the other girls began to run frantically around our dorm, trying to piece together their final belongings from the pile of clothes and shoes strewn in the centre, I realized that I should change my clothes. At this time, I looked down and saw the Quidditch sweater I was wearing, and instantly all the memories of my amazing night. I felt my cheeks burning a bright pink now as I replayed what had happened in my mind, and then felt a dreamy smile cross my face. I threw my clothes from last night in my trunk, pulled on my civilian clothes, and paused for a moment as I looked down at Scorpius' sweater. The temptation to wear it was powerful; in my mind, I was set to be his girlfriend now... after all, that was the natural next step after making out with your best friend. But at the same time, the thought of the endless teasing from Felix, Lysander, or worse yet, Tayber, was enough to make me nauseous again. So, I decided it was best to keep my secret a secret for a little longer, and I folded the sweater into a neat pile, and after one last inhale of his scent, put it in my trunk. The chaos around me had yet to improve, and I was instantly called into the mess to sort out my shoes from the rest. At the rate we were packing, I was sure we would be late for the train...

We all made it on time, however. Although the lot of us missed breakfast, there were no 6th year girls late for the last train home from Hogwarts for the summer. I managed to get a car that wasn't full, and waited patiently for Scorpius to join me. Much to my dismay, he didn't find me until almost 11 o'clock, and only minutes before the train was to leave. But once I saw him, I smiled brightly at his face, and he returned the expression, as I expected. Of course, my happiness faded as soon as I saw Lysander and Oliver following close behind.

"Thanks for saving us seats, Lilsy." Scorpius smiled and gave me a secret wink as he sat down beside me. I couldn't help but blush a little.

"No problem boys." I replied cheerfully. After everyone was settled in, the train started to move. "So, what are your plans for the summer?" I asked the car in general. Scorpius, I noticed, did not answer immediately; after all, I already knew his answer.

"Going to visit my dad in Portugal." Lysander smirked. "And possibly get to meet my mother."

"You have a mother?" Oliver joked. We all chuckled; it was no secret that Lysander's father was gay. And the fact that Blaise had never met his mother was always a bit of a running joke, since it could be anyone. From what Lysander had told us, his father (before switching teams), had been quite the player, and dated numerous women.

"Yes, I'll have to pull out the list again... hey Hype, maybe it's your mother! Wouldn't that be wonderful?" Lysander teased, giving him a wicked smile. It was also no secret that Blaise Zabini had at one time dated Scorpius' mother before she married his father.

"Yeah, or it's that woman that slept with him in exchange for his part in ruining some girl's wedding. That is one of my _favourite_ stories; gives me a perfect picture of how you're going to turn out." Scorpius replied with a slight sneer.

"Ah yes, I too love that story." Oliver mused. I just rolled my eyes; I had heard all these stories time and time again. It made all of us wonder where the dramatic, hormone driven Hogwarts had gone to...

"Well, all I can say is keep an eye on your ladies, boys. You never know when those Zabini genes are going to come out." Lysander smirked at Scorpius and Oliver before he looked right at me and added "Right, Lilith?"

"Oh yes, Lysander, for you I would leave _anyone_." I replied sarcastically, rolling my eyes. Oliver and Lysander snickered, while Scorpius did nothing. I wasn't sure if he was bothered by the topic, or if he just didn't find it amusing.

"Speaking of boyfriends, how's Tayber?" Oliver asked out of the blue. I was so caught off guard that once again I turned bright red. I had almost forgotten about him! The thought of what he did to me last night... in front of the entire senior class! I never wanted to see him again as long as I lived!

"He has no chance now." I muttered darkly as I shifted uncomfortably.

"Really? Well that's too bad." Lysander smirked. I knew that he had some trick up his sleeve again, and I was just about to ask him what it was when the door opened. Half expecting to see Tayber waltz in, I put on my best grimace face. I was, however, pleasantly surprised when I saw my brother standing in the threshold.

"Lilith, did you get mother's owl this morning?" he asked in his soft, almost sulking voice. I had to think about it for a moment, but then remembered that I hadn't even eaten breakfast that morning. Now my hunger was in my mind, and it was the only thing I could focus on.

"No, I didn't. Why?" I replied back, annoyed by the apparent pain in my stomach from lack of food.

"We're going out after we get dropped off in London, remember? Mum wants us to go right over to the Ministry after we get off the train." Damien reminded me, his voice yet to change in tone or volume. I was now recalling the birthday treat I always received when I came home from school; ice cream from the parlour in Diagon Ally, which had changed owners so many times that no one really knew the name of it.

"Ok, that's fine. But why are you asking me then? We always do that." I replied in a now suspicious manner.

"I guess you have a point... well, I just wanted to make sure you weren't going to ditch mum and dad for your friends." Damien replied with a quick, sharp glance at Scorpius. It was no secret that Damien never liked him. But as far as I was concerned, he could shove it.

"Damien, go back to your car. I know we're meeting up with mum and dad after, so whatever hidden agenda you have has failed." I replied with a dramatic sigh and eye roll. "Now go away." I added as I turned away from the door and faced out the window. I heard Damien mutter something under his breath, and then I heard the glass door slide shut, and his heavy footsteps walking away. There was a brief moment of silence in the car before Lysander finally broke it.

"You know, your brother is kind of weird."

"Thanks Lysander. As his God-brother, I should hope you would have had a better influence on him... Guess not." I replied back smartly. Scorpius chuckled, and then made himself comfortable beside me, his hand brushing up against mine as he did. He didn't move it, and neither did I. For a while, we sat in secret embrace, carrying on a typical conversation with our classmates. All I wanted to do at that moment was throw myself at him, and continue where we had left off the night before, but due to the by standards that were more likely to not be so understanding, I thought it would be a bad idea. And then, when Tayber walked in about 30 seconds later, I had officially made up my mind that it would be the worst idea in the world.

"So this is where you're all hiding!" Tayber laughed as he and Malachi pushed themselves into the car, slamming the door closed and ducking down bellow the glass, hiding from someone on the train.

"Don't mind us; Felix isn't too happy to hear that Tayb may or may not have convinced the elves that his trunk was trash, and wasn't going on the train home." Malachi explained as he peered his head over the glass, before dropping it down a split second later and pressing himself right against the door as Tayber had already done so.

"Do you want us to cover for you then?" Lysander rolled his eyes, pulling out his edition of the Daily Prophet and holding it just bellow his eye level.

"It would be vastly appreciated, if you don't mind." Tayber smiled brightly, still barely containing the amusement he was getting from Felix's apparent anger. At that moment, Felix's large, red face appeared in the window, fuming like a boiling kettle about to whistle. From the other side of the door, they could all hear him shouting, asking if they had seen Tayber and Malachi.

"What? Sorry, we can't hear you..." Lysander replied, barely containing a chuckle, which was echoed by Tayber and Malachi on the floor. Felix made a very un-amused face, and repeated his question at an even louder voice.

"No, sorry mate! No people by that name in here!" Scorpius replied back, having the same amount of trouble holding back his own smile and laughter. Even at this point, I too was having trouble trying to keep my composure. Felix gave us a very frustrated expression, and then stormed off down the hallway, continuing his futile quest.

As soon as he was out of hearing range, we all burst out laughing, some more heartily than others. As expected, the boys all congratulated themselves with high-five's, while I just shook my head slowly with amusement. At that moment, Tayber looked up and caught my eye, which I found I couldn't look away from. One thing I actually found attractive about Tayber were his beautiful, ice blue eyes. Matched with his dark locks, it was a combination almost as irresistible as those of Scorpius... if it weren't for the mind behind those attractive features! He caught me staring at him for a moment, and he cracked a crooked smile.

"Something caught your eye, Lilsy?" he said in a low, sultry voice that made me blush a furious color of red. Lysander was making cutesy noises from across from me, which I returned with a swift kick to his shin.

"Yes, I was just admiring the fact that you look uncommonly like a normal human being. And here I thought, what with your maturity level, that you had to be at least half troll." I replied with a very firm and wicked voice. He narrowed his eyes at me, and then stood from the floor.

"Lilith, that's not very nice." Lysander said patronizingly from across the car. I once again kicked him in the shin in an attempt to shut him up. He shouted in pain once again, and was now rubbing his injury.

"That doesn't help..." Scorpius snickered from beside me. I thought I felt his fingers brush against my hand for a moment, and I looked back at Tayber in order to cover up my physiological reaction again; I would rather everyone think I was blushing over him embarrassing me rather than know the truth...

"Well, I think we'd ought to get moving, don't you?" Malachi suggested, standing from the floor and tussling his hair to make it extra messy again. Tayber shot him a dark look that told him his opinion was exactly the opposite, and then turned back to stare at me, once again finding my eyes.

"What are you doing at the end of August?" he asked me, and clearly only me.

"Not you." I replied smartly, sneering at him for a moment. "But you've caught my curiosity, so why do you ask?"

Still recovering from being shot down, he took a moment to laugh off the insult, and then proceeded to tell me that his parents were going to be gone for a week, and that he thought I should join the rest of our housemates at his place. "Consider it a final hang out for all of us before we sacrifice our summers with work and children." He said with a small smirk on his lips.

I seriously considered what he was asking me for a moment. True, it would be at his house, where I would never be free of him. But it would also mean hanging out with my friends for an entire week... without supervision.... including Scorpius. It sounded like quite the adventure to me.  
"Send me an owl later in the summer. I'll have to consider what risks I'm taking potentially sleeping in the same house as you." I replied with a small smile. He returned the gesture with a much wider and brighter smile, then turned to Malachi.

"I'll take that as a yes." He chuckled to his friend, instead of me. "Alright mates, we'll be off now! Remember, if Felix asks, you never saw us!"

"We'll pretend like you don't exist. Got it." I replied under my breath. Scorpius heard me and let out a quick laugh before managing to cover it up.

"See you all later!" Malachi called as he opened the door from the car. As soon as they closed the glass door again, the only thing I heard was a loud shout from the distance, and then saw Tayber and Malachi running away, followed by Felix chasing after them a few seconds later.

We didn't do much else the entire train ride home. At one point, Andréa and Malia joined the car, which added a few more females to the conversation (at last!). I had to admit that having a guy as your best friend had both its advantages and disadvantages... lots of them. And although I didn't hang out with Andréa very often, I knew that I was going to miss her occasional input to whatever problem I was having, and it always seemed to help.

The girls were instantly chattering amongst the boys about all the drama that had ensued the night before. Apparently, one of the goodie-two-shoes Gryffindors who had been shunned by the party was the one who gave up everyone at the party, including those who had planned it all. But because they were all graduating, the Head Master decided to waive their punishment as a final treat.

"It's just an invitation for us to do the same now... I hope he knows that!" Malia was muttering to herself. I simply exchanged a sideways glance with Scorpius, and then made myself a little more comfortable again on my seat, brushing my fingers against his again. I saw him glance down at the connection, but he didn't say anything, nor did he move to hold my hand or pull away.

"Well, I guess we'll have to be smarter about the guest list, won't we? No point in letting the word get out to anyone who will rat on us..." Lysander mused from his side of the car. "You know, I think we might be close to London. Anyone care to join me on an adventure to the bathroom?"  
Oliver and Andréa figured it was a good idea, so they followed along, but unfortunately, Malia could not be persuaded to join then. So, Scorpius and I sat there awkwardly, just staring out the window at nothing.  
_  
God this is so awkward.... how does she not catch the hint! Apparently if I beat her over the head with the fact, she still won't get it! _I thought bitterly as I glared at the passing buildings outside. It wasn't until the train began to slow and pull into Kings Cross Station did Malia finally caught on and got up to find Magnolia, Vanessa, and Talia. Now I took the chance to turn to Scorpius and flash him a quick smile, just to see what he would do. He flashed me back a similar smile, and for a moment I thought that he might kiss me again, but he did not make the move. Maybe it was because the train was filled with hundreds of students, who were now starting to gather their things. Or maybe it was because he just didn't know if my feelings were the same now that we were both sober. I wanted to mention something, but by this time, Lysander had re-entered the car, ranting about some kid who stepped on his shoe. I rolled my eyes and decided it was a hopeless effort to try and talk to Scorpius now. I would have to find another time, when we didn't have all of our acquaintances interrupting us every 5 minutes.

The train had at last stopped, and we were all on our way to getting off the crowded train of excited children, trying to start their summer sooner than the person behind them. I dragged my trunk out of the pile of the rest, and made my way across the platform to wait for my brother to catch up with me. Knowing Damien, however, he was probably talking to Kiki, wasting time and no doubt having forgotten that we had to meet our parents in about half an hour. My brother's hypocrisy made me sick sometimes... As far as he was concerned, it was completely different if he made us late because he was talking to our cousin, where as he had the nerve to come and make sure I wasn't going to do the same with my friends. I sometimes wished that it wasn't as creepy for cousins to get married because then my brother and Kiki could just elope and have done with it... save my sanity if only for a moment.

"So, off to meet up with your family then?" I heard Scorpius muse from beside me. I sighed and leaned my head back against the brick wall I was leaning against.

"If my brother ever leaves my cousin, yes. Honestly, it's like they're twins! They're inseparable!" I grumbled as I checked my watch. We were supposed to meet my mother in 20 minutes, but we still had to walk all the way to the nearest Floo Powder station before we could even dream of being near the Ministry. No doubt we were going to be late at this rate, and there was nothing our mother hated more than being late.

"Well, don't forget to beg your mother for permission to come visit me... even though you're 17 now." Scorpius said with a tone that I couldn't quite understand.

"That will be my last resort excuse if I must. But let's hope it doesn't reach that point." I smiled, now turning my head a little to face him. He was smiling down at me from his slight height difference. I saw him look at my lips, and I thought that he might kiss me again. But, of course, as fate would have it, someone called his name, and he instantly snapped to attention.

"Hello father." He said awkwardly. I instantly felt my cheeks turn a bright red, and I turned to busy myself with my nails in an attempt to look casual. "You remember Lilith, right?" he said, nudging me out of my trance with his elbow. I looked up at his hint and was almost floored to see the similarities between Scorpius and his father.

"Of course I remember Lilith." His father said with a slight smirk that I couldn't quite understand. "You look just like your mother."

"You knew my mother?" I asked, the surprise in my voice quite evident.

"I went to school with both your parents. And your uncle Blaise. Didn't Scorpius ever tell you that?" he said, a small chuckle following his words.

"No, Hype- I mean, _Scorpius_- never told me that!" I said, giving Scorpius a sideways glance. He shrugged and tried to appear as casual as he could.

"I never thought you were interested?" he answered carefully. I narrowed my eyes, and was about to say something witty to him, but I was interrupted by my brother calling my name. I rolled my eyes and looked at Scorpius for a moment before I replied back to his hollering.

"Over here, Damien." I called in a less than enthusiastic voice. I saw Mr. Malfoy looking at my brother as well with the same smirk on his face that he had given me. I didn't know what to make of it... maybe it was the fact that he looked very similar to my father.

"Well, we'd best be off Scorpius. Best say goodbye to your friends. Lovely seeing you again, Lilith. Do say hello to your mother for me." He said politely before he turned and disappeared into the steam from the train, which was now cooling down.

Scorpius let out a quick sigh and stepped forward to give me what I thought was a goodbye kiss, but at the same time, we both apparently remembered that my brother was right behind me. "See you later this summer! No is not an option, remember!" he reminded me. I laughed and gave him a tight hug that I didn't want to let him out of. I could feel my heart racing being this close to him, but I didn't want to give it away to anyone around me. So all I could do was hold him in an extra long embrace before we felt awkward enough to let go. "I'll write you later."

"You'd better!" I scolded him, giving him one more playful slap on the arm. He made a face at me and picked up his trunk to follow his father. "Bye Hype." I said with a smile on my face. I was going to miss him until I saw him for his birthday, but at least I had a couple good memories to obsess over until then. He wished me a good summer, then turned away and also disappeared behind the steam barrier. I stared off in the same direction, then let out a soft sigh and turned back. When I saw my brother's disapproving eyes, I jumped a little, having once again forgotten he was there.

"Why do you hang out with that prat?" he asked snidly. I glared at him and purposely stepped on his foot as I passed him to pick up my trunk.

"You do know that I don't give two straws what you think, right?" I replied coldly as I pushed my way past him now. "Come on, we're going to be late."

"Just wait, I want to say goodbye to Kiki!" he called to me after I had only taken 3 steps forward.

"Were you not just with her?!" I whined. "Besides, you'll see her like 15 times this summer. One day will not make a difference." I told him, and then turned to walk away again.

"I'll tell mother about how trampy you were dressed last night if you don't wait." Damien threatened. I now stopped in my tracks and turned on my heel. I hadn't been aware that he was even at that stupid dance last night, but I knew that he wouldn't make something up like that if he hadn't seen me. I could feel my face turning red with anger as I watched him smirk with victory. Defeated, I sat on my trunk lid as I waited for the blonde Kiki to come running up 3 minutes later, give both myself and Damien a hug goodbye, and continue past on her way to visit Lily Potter's family.

"Well, wasn't _that_ a waste of 5 minutes! Now we're really late." I sneered at him as I stood again and dragged my trunk behind me as I passed through the barrier into the Muggle world.

"At least Kiki's father isn't as creepy as Scorpius' is!" Damien remarked smartly from a few feet behind me.

"Damien, we don't even know _who_ her father is, remember?" I laughed. Upon hearing this very true point, I was satisfied to hear my brother finally shut up, and he ran the few feet to catch up with me. Now walking in sibling silence, we headed towards the Floo Powder station nearby.

We arrived at the Ministry of Magic atrium exactly 10 minutes late. And as expected, our mother was pacing in front of the fountain. The moment she saw us walking towards her, she sighed with relief, and then instantly changed her focus towards scolding us.

"Why can't you ever be on time?" she started as soon as we were standing in front of her.

"We missed you too, mum." Damien mumbled. This apparently stopped our mother in her tracks, and after staring at him for a moment, she sighed and took us both into a hug.

"I've missed you both so much." She said in that motherly voice that all parents use. "And happy belated birthday, Lilith! Once your father joins us, we'll be off to get some ice cream." She said, now releasing us both and looking towards the elevators impatiently. My brother and I exchanged quick glances, both of us knowing that our mother was a real stickler when it came to being on time. But for our father, she was usually more lineate, since he often had trial cases run over their time limit, or had to deal with the press afterwards. As a key member of the Wizengamot court, he was naturally expected to take on these burdens, and so our mother was a little more forgiving of him being late... even if it was for my birthday outing.

At last, after a good 10 minutes of extra waiting, making small talk amongst ourselves as we tried to be patient, my father finally emerged from the elevators across the way, and started to walk towards us. I stood up and smiled brightly, as if to remind him that I missed him as much as I missed my sometimes overbearing mother. I had always looked forward to coming home and seeing my loving parents, who had always been so good to my brother and I. Unlike some kids I knew, I actually could live in the same house as my parents, and never have any problems with them talking or checking up on me. I knew they were just looking out for me.

As my father drew closer, something from out the corner of my eye caught my attention. There were several figures also moving towards us, like a mob of people coming to join us. I looked at my brother for a moment, trying to see if he found it odd; his expression of confusion told me that yes he did. And then to make matters work, they started to speed up, almost following my father on his heels. My mother said something to my father that I didn't hear over the footsteps, and then things started to become hazy in my understanding. One moment, a man puts a firm grip on my fathers shoulder, turning him around to face him, the next, someone has their wands drawn, and have restrained my father, despite the fact that he wasn't struggling. My brother and I moved forward to try and help him, but our mother was right in that like lightning, apparently forgetting that we were there.

"What in God's name do you think you're doing! Put down your wands this instant!" she shouted as she ran forward, pulling out her own wand like she would fight them to get him free. They instantly disarmed her, which she did not appreciate; her anger instantly tripled. "What is the meaning of this! I am his wife, and I want to know right now what you're doing!" she shouted at the man clearly in charge of this whole event, who nodded to the others to take my father off in the opposite direction of us.

"Madame, you threatening us will not change the fact that Mr. Nott is under arrest. So if you'd please just step aside and-"

"Arrested!? For what!" she demanded, taking the opportunity to elbow one of the men out of her way, and she snatched our fathers hands into hers, as an attempt to prevent them from taking him away.

"I suppose we had better read the charges out, hadn't we?" the head wizard said to his second-in-command. He pulled out a piece of parchment and read off what was written. "Mr. Theodore Tobias Nott, you are hereby under arrest by the order of the head Auror, appointed by the Minister of Magic, for your connection in the murder of Colin Creevey on May 3rd, 1998. By order of the Minister of Magic, you are to be contained in our holding cells at the Ministry of Magic until your trial date, which will be held on July 1st at noon." The man finished reading and rolled the parchment back up, handing it off to his second-in-command. "Does that answer your question, Mrs. Nott?" he asked with a slight tone that I expected my mother to rip his head off for. But to my surprise, she was very white, and her expression blank, as if she didn't know what to think or say.

"Daphne, please take Lilith and Damien out of here." My father told her calmly, but she just kept staring at the man like he was a ghost. "Daphne, _please_!" he repeated, this time begging her to comply. This time she turned and looked at us, momentarily letting us see the fear in her eyes. But when she saw what was no doubt the confused expressions on our faces, she instantly turned back to rage.

"Go to your Aunt Tracey and tell her exactly what has happened." She demanded. When we both stood there, she blinked and then shouted "Go!" which startled both of us.

At that moment, I heard the Auror say to take our father away, and my mother instantly started screaming at him again, saying he had no evidence that such a crime had ever been committed, and that she would have him fired for this. My father told her in a raised voice that was rarely heard to go with us, but she shouted that she was not leaving him in the hands of 'these power hungry dogs!' Before they disappeared into a hallway beside the far left elevator, she turned back and shouted "Go to your Aunt's NOW!" at us, and then ran ahead to catch up, letting her threats and screams echo back out into the atrium.

For a moment, Damien and I stood there, completely frozen with shock and confusion. Was our father really just arrested for murder!? But that didn't make sense! He was the gentlest, kindest, and caring man I had ever known! How could anyone even think of accusing him of such a thing!? Then, as if our mothers orders had rang in our brains again, we turned to each other, fear in our eyes for what was going to happen next.

"Let's go." Damien said, his eyes starting to water in a not-so-rare display of emotion for him. He was normally what I would consider a cry baby, but in a case like this, where I too was having to struggle with trying to comprehend what had just happened, I could not tease him. We ran into a fireplace together, and holding my trunk in one hand, my sibling's hand tight in the other, we transported ourselves to our commanded.

**_AN: Alright, so that should give you a good hit for a while! Hahaha. Review, and I shall work extra hard to update as quick as possible! You're looking at Early to Mid September for the next update, after I've moved into my new place!  
REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW!!!_**


	5. Chapter 5

**_AN: Whoot! Another chapter!! This one features a few changes in POV, so just look for the markers to show where I'm switching charaters :)  
Enjoy!!_**

**((LILITH'S POV))**  
Damien and I ran to the nearest Floo port we could find along the atrium, neither of us daring to look back and see what was happening down that dark and noisy hallway where the Aurors dragged our father. We were both so frightened that we couldn't help but shake as we took small handfuls of the Floo powder in our hands, and climbed into the grate. I knew that all I wanted to do was get away from this place, but at the same time, I wanted to run and follow my parents, just to make sure everything was alright. I hesitated to call out a destination, and I could feel Damien watching me intently from my side.

"We need to go to Aunt Tracey's, Lilith." He said in a voice that was practically pleading me to do as our mother told us. I knew he was thinking the same thing I was: how could our father, one of the leading members of the Wizengamot court, who was held as a hero by many families for releasing countless innocent people from Azkaban prison, suddenly be arrested for murder!? The mere thought of my father, who was so gentle and quiet, killing anyone would stump Merlin himself if he were in my position. "Lilith, _please!_" my sensitive brother pleaded again. I knew that he did not want to break down crying here; he would rather die than start to cry in a place as public as this. I also knew that the only person he would ever talk to about whatever he was feeling was Kiki, so it was better if I did as he asked. Blinking away my watery emotions from my eyes, I cleared my throat, and shouted 'Davis' place', causing us both to disappear into a flash of green and noise floating all around us, before landing with a thud on the hardwood floor of Aunt Tracey's parlour.

As expected, a few seconds later Aunt Tracey appeared, Kiki right behind her. She looked at me like she was seeing a ghost, but then shook off the shock and stepped forward with her questions.  
"Hey you two, what are you doing here?" she asked in her usually cheerful tone, smiling as she waited for a reply. When neither of us replied, her smile faded and she looked at both me and my brother with more concern then confusion. "Lilith? Damien? What's wrong?" she asked pressingly. Kiki appeared at her mother's side, and as I expected, Damien instantly let out a stifled sob and ran forward to hug her. Tracey only watched in confusion, then nodded for Kiki to take Damien away to the other room. She then turned her worried eyes back to me. "What's happened Lilith?" she asked me, more stern this time, like she was not enjoying all the mystery.

"F-father was... a-arrested!" I stumbled with my words, like my brain didn't want to string the sentence together lest it be true. When she heard those words, her eyes went wide and she put her hands out on my shoulders, looking me dead in the eyes, and asked me to repeat what I had said. "He was arrested, Aunt Tracey! We were waiting for him to come for my birthday lunch-" these words caught my throat, and I suddenly found it hard to speak. The tears were escaping my eyes now as a singular thought ran through my head: 'Happy Birthday to me...'

"What was he arrested for?!" Tracey demanded, gently but none the less pressing. I shook my head at first, unable to see through my tears. I knew that if I repeated the words the man had laid against my father, I would break down instantly. "Lilith, you have to tell me! I can't help him if you don't!" she explained, tightening her grip on my shoulders a little more. I swallowed the sobs that were trying to escape, and then took in a deep breath before I finally let the singular word escape my lips.

"Murder." I breathed, feeling my whole body suddenly go cold. I could feel my mind and throat closing as I tried to control myself, but it wasn't working...

My aunts reaction didn't help either. She just stood there, stunned and slowly turning pale. It was very similar to how my mother looked. Despite the fact that I wanted to bawl my eyes out, this pattern was more disturbing than comforting to me.

"Why do you look like that, Tracey?" I asked, my voice hoarse and quivering, but strong none the less. At that moment, she snapped out of her trance of her own thoughts and looked at me with confusion now.

"What are you talking about?"

"You look surprised... or scared." I said, watching her face slowly change from white to a slight shade of pink. Whether she was surprised or scared, I didn't know, but I knew that I had caught her. "Aunt Tracey, why are you not angry at this! It's a lie, is it not!?" I demanded, my tears coming back again. "My father would never murder anyone! How can you stand there like a mute and stare at me like I'm a ghost!"

"Because you _are _a ghost to me, Lilith!" Tracey said finally, taking my face in her hands this time and wiping the tears off my cheeks. "If you only knew..." she sighed as she pulled me into a hug, which I found an odd mixture of comforting and constraining. "Your mother was here doing almost the exact same thing 18 years ago... God, you look so much like her! Sometime I feel like I've walked into a pensive!" she said, gently stroking the top of my head, like she was trying to make me cry again.

"My father is innocent. You know that, right Aunt Tracey?" I said through a locked jaw. No one in their right mind could ever accuse my father of hurting anyone! He _saves_ lives, not takes them away! He's a hero to hundreds! He could never do anything like that! When Tracey didn't say anything, I got angry once again and pulled myself out of her hug, now standing against the mantle, looking at her with bloodshot, tear soaked eyes. "Why won't you tell me I'm right!? Why can't you-"

"Oh Lilith, if you only knew what life was like back then." Tracey interrupted me sharply. I was so surprised not only by her tone, but the words she used to answer me, that I felt my mind struggling to process it all.

"B-but... he's innocent! He could never-"

"Lilith, you have no idea what life was like for us growing up." She explained, stepping forward and taking both my hands into hers. "We have all worked so hard to shield you from the fear and abuse that our families put us through when we were children... We all made mistakes in our past, Lilith; everyone does."

I stared at her with my eyes wide. I couldn't be hearing this right; was she telling me that the charges weren't false, but they were actually true!? That my father had killed someone?  
"I-it's true then!? That my father _killed_ someone!?" I whispered so quietly that it barely came out of my throat at all. Tracey went white again and backed away from me, like she was afraid to tell me anything else.

"That's for the courts to decide. I tell you I know nothing about it, Lilith. Only what your parents told me." She explained hastily.

"It's true?" I repeated, now in disbelief and shock. I felt my legs weak, and I felt myself drop to the floor. Tracey rushed forward to make sure I didn't hit my head off the wall, but I pushed her away. "How can you say that!?" I sobbed. "You don't know my father! No one does! You don't know him!" I screamed at her.

As if she was expecting this reaction, she slowly stood from helping me and now stood a few feet away from me, looking down on me like she was outside this whole situation, watching the show. "Lilith, I'm afraid that all of our dark secrets are going to come out now... and I don't want to be the one to tell you them." She said gently. I just looked at her like she was telling me I had just drank slug guts; was she trying to tell me that this was only going to get _worse!? _"I'm going to go check on Damien..." she said, excusing herself from the situation, and she shuffled as fast as she could out of the room and into the kitchen. Now, I was alone with my thoughts.  
_  
Secrets? What secrets!? My parents have never kept anything from me! Nothing! What could they possibly _want _to keep from me and Damien!? _

At that moment, my mind answered my own question; _If they didn't tell you about the guy your father killed, imagine what they REALLY don't want you to find out about...  
_I felt a sharp sob escape me again, and I put my head in my knees as I sat and waited for something to change... the past, the present, the future, whatever! I just didn't want to move until things were better. I would rather shut down then deal with my life crumbling apart anymore...

**((DAPHNE'S POV))  
**I stalked behind that mob like they were holding the last piece of food on earth. I had never been so infuriated in my either life! How dare anyone arrest my husband, one of the best members of the Wizengamot courts there ever was! And in front of his wife and children, no less! The nerve of this Head Auror! I was ready to cut off his head and serve it to a dragon for all I cared! I was going to show whoever it was that they were not about to mess with me, Daphne Nott! I would make sure he saw his mistake of trying to bring out this 'small blemish' on my husband's past, and try and turn it into a full criminal trial! I was feeling high and mighty as I screamed and shouted at the aurors that were dragging my husband off into the holding cells, telling them that I would have them all fired as soon as we got this all straightened out.  
But when I saw Harry Potter standing there, behind the desk that said 'Head Auror' in polished gold letters, shining so bright that they were taunting me, I felt all my bravado vanish, and genuine fear take its place.  
_  
Shit. This is not good... _I thought to myself as we stared at each other for a moment.

"Where do you want us to lock him up?" the second-in-command Auror asked Potter. He turned his head casually and told him cell 3. Then, he turned back to me, looking at me curiously before speaking.

"Can I help you?" he asked in a slightly arrogant tone. I felt my temper rise again, but I forced myself to control it.

"You've just arrested my husband, Potter. I'm here to demand to know your reasoning why." I said stiffly. He looked at me from over his glasses, then nodded at the chair that I was standing beside and told me to take a seat. I looked at it like it was a trap for a moment, but then eagerly sat down in it and stared back at the man who was currently holding my husband's fate.

"So, Nott's you're husband, is he?" Potter asked, making small talk as he dipped his quill into an ink well and scratched something quickly on a piece of parchment before flicking his wand and changing it into a paper plane, which flew away on its own. "I was unaware you were married, Greengrass." I had a mind to call him out on his ignorance that his children were in the same year as both my children, and that my God-daughter was Lily's best friend! But I focused on the point that offended me more than his lack of attentiveness to his children and their parents.

"Don't call me that, Potter." I hissed sharply. "It's Mrs. Nott or Daphne; I was _never_ Miss Greengrass, as everyone is mistaken in calling me."

Potter looked up from his desk with a small smirk, then back down at his work before he said "Funny, I seem to remember you being Daphne _Greengrass_ in school" in a smart tone.

"You never spoke to me, so don't pretend to know or care about who I was back then." I shot back with venom dripping from my tone of voice.

"Yes, but I made a point to check on all of the Slytherins, before _and_ after graduation." He admitted with a smirk again. "And yet, after graduation, you and your husband slipped under my radar... how do you suppose that happened?" he asked me, looking at me like he was waiting for an explanation. I stared back at him like I had no clue what he was talking about, so he continued with his pretentious talk. "Mrs. Nott, I have no qualms in telling you that your husband is under arrest for the murder of Colin Creevey during the Battle of Hogwarts, and if he should prove to be innocent, he shall be released and back to work in no time, so unless you and your husband have something to hide, then I see no reason for you being here."  
_  
Clever Potter... trying to make me admit to something, are you? _I thought as I narrowed my eyes at him. I could use Occlumency on him if I knew he wouldn't be able to defend himself. But I realize that he had just revealed a small, unknown detail to me that he may not have intended to.  
"Both me _and_ my husband are implicated, Potter?" I asked in a rather calm and collective voice. He looked back at my expression oddly, like it wasn't the reaction he was expecting. He told me that yes, I was a key part to the investigation, and they would need to question me. "Well, my question to you is how do you know if I was even present? Or do you intend on questioning me about my husband's behaviour over the past 20 years, which I can tell you has been nothing more than loving, gentle, and ideal in the eyes of what a good human being ought to be." I shot back so quickly that it took him a few moments to try and figure out what I had just said.

"We have witness testimony that puts you and Nott at the scene of the crime. Does that answer your question?" Potter replied flatly.

My mind was instantly set into motion. I rewound my memory back to that night, and tried to picture who was there. Theodore was hidden... there were those Gryffindor girls... they tried to fight me... but why were they even trying? And I was defending someone... who was I trying to protect if Theodore was protecting me?

"Trying to make up a good lie, Greengrass?" Potter interrupted my train of thought. I glared at him and refocused my mind to the present.

"And who is this witness you speak of? I can't recall anyone seeing Theodore even being present in the area at the time of Creevey's death."

"So you admit you were both there?" Potter caught my mistake. I ground my teeth in my jaw a bit, but grudgingly admitted that yes I saw Colin struck with the killing curse, but I lied and told him I hadn't seen where it came from. And then I told him that Theodore appeared shortly after, which he truthfully had.

"But you haven't answered my question, Potter." I asked again, this time with my teeth snarling a little with the anger in my tone. "Who is this witness that places me and Theodore at the crime?"

"For obvious reasons, Greengrass, I can't tell you that." Potter replied with a quick chuckle. "You'd have whoever it is killed for trying to ruin your secluded life, wouldn't you?"

Those words... they didn't sound like his... Instantly, I set my mind back into rewind, trying to find out who was there. I closed my eyes as I watched the whole scene play out in front of my eyes... I was down at the lake, duelling Colin, and 3 Gryffindor girls. I searched my brain and pulled together their names; Lavender, Padma, and Pavarti. I then remembered seeing the flash of green, which was obviously the curse hitting Colin... Then the 3 girls ran away... and it was just me... and then Theodore appeared... no one had seen him come out! There was no way that any of those Gryffindors had caught a glimpse of him!

A singular slice of the conversation caught my inner ear as I heard it replayed in my memory. It was Padma telling her friends to go after me because I was in Slytherin... I was sure something similar was happening today, as evident by my husband's arrest... But then Pavarti said something about someone being slutty... I couldn't remember what she said at first. But then I remembered my exact words that I said in reply: 'I don't need my sister to take on a bunch of nit wits like you!'

_Astoria! She was there! _I suddenly remembered, my eyes flying open with the realization. _She was the whole reason I was even down there! Yes, I was trying to get her to go down to Hogsmead, and she refused! And while I tried to get her to give in, Colin tried to hex me, and Theodore got him first! _I remembered, now watching the movie in front of my mind's eye with crystal clear picture. So, Theodore killed Colin, and the girls ran away... then Theodore came out after everyone was gone... except for-

Before I even knew what I was doing, I was standing up from my chair, my ears practically whistling steam out of them. Potter, evidently watching my degrading mental capacity, was also standing, his wand already pointed at me.  
"Astoria! You're trusting _Astoria Malfoy_ as a witness to your case!?" I shouted at him, shaking with anger so much that I could barely see straight. He stared back at me, so calm that I would have been dumbstruck had I not known what he had faced over his life... what everyone knew he had faced, rather!

"She gave us information that no one could know except for someone who was there. Like where to find Nott's wand, or where the curse was fired from. She therefore makes for quite a reliable witness." Potter explained simply.

"Oh really? And did she also explain how she _hates _me and will do anything to ruin me!?" I shouted. "She is making this up to destroy my life, Potter! And you're falling for her tricks!" I accused him, still shaking like crazy.

"And why would your sister try to frame your husband?" he asked in a curious tone, like he thought it was a joke.

"SHE'S NOT MY SISTER!" I screamed. Potter stared back in calm silence, completely unafraid or shaken by my outburst. "She is dead to me, as I am to that entire bastardization to the word '_family_'. I hate the lot of them! And despite the fact that I haven't willingly spoken to her in 18 years, she still wants to destroy me!" I exclaimed, collapsing into the chair again. "She must still think I'm after Draco! Why else would she bring some lie like this to you!" Potter looked at me with slight confusion and disgust.

"Why would Astoria decide to do this now, 20 years later?" he asked suspiciously.

"Don't ask me about her motives! She's the egotistical maniac! Ask _her _why she wants to destroy me after all these years! I haven't come into contact with a single blood relative of mine since her wedding!" I then put my fingers to my temples, feeling a migraine that could bring down a hippogriff coming on. _That stupid bitch... she's really going to try and make my life hell all over again... I haven't been near her, or Draco, since our children's first year! _My mind was grinding the gears so fast that I felt as though I might faint if I didn't arrive to some conclusion soon, but it just didn't make sense to me.

"Well, Mrs. Nott, I'm afraid I can't help you with _why_ she's decided to come forward now, but I can tell you that she had brought about enough information that we can take your husband to trial for murder. Now, do you want to discuss that with me, or shall I have you removed from my office so I can get back to work?" he was now tucking his wand in his robe pocket and taking a seat behind his desk, staring at me with irritation.

"When will the trial start?" I asked calmly, more or less muttering my answer.

"Tomorrow afternoon. At 2 o'clock. Well, that's when we will be presenting our case to the Wizengamot court, and they will decide if there is just cause to try him." I felt a tiny smirk come across my lips at this, which he caught "And don't think that your husband's friends are going to be enough to swing _this _vote, Mrs. Nott. I know that his friends have helped him time and time again to release _guilty_ people from Azkaban in the past with loads of 'new testimony' and 'contaminated evidence'. But trust me, if he is found guilty, there will be no stopping him from going to that very spot for his sentence."

I felt like a bucket of cold water had just been poured down my back. I was instantly transported back to 3rd year... the fear that Theodore had of Dementors! He would go insane in Azkaban with fear! Or worse yet...

"You can't!" I burst out. Potter looked up from something on his desk at my sudden outburst and raised one eyebrow quizzically. "Please Potter, I'm begging you. I will testify in court, and I will cooperate with whatever you feel is right according to the law until and during the trial." I was rambling so fast that I almost couldn't understand myself. But I paused to catch my breath before I added in a whisper "But you can't send him to Azkaban. He will die there." Potter rolled his eyes, clearly unconvinced. "Listen to me! His father was so terrified of them, and he passed that fear onto Theodore. And when his father was sent to prison-"

"For a crime that he should have been sentenced for _years_ before." Potter added snidely.

"Tobias Nott died not a week after being released from prison! Despite the fact that we told him time and time again that he was free, and no Dementors could harm him, he gave himself a stroke with the sheer terror that they would sneak up on him, even outside Azkaban!" I paused and looked at him for a moment, staring back at me with no sign of empathy whatsoever. "Have you never seen what happens to the people you lock away in that Hell hole you call a prison? They go insane, turn into empty shells, or the die! How can you want to send a member of the Ministry of Magic, and a loving father and husband, to such a place?"

"Position and family don't make a difference anymore, Mrs. Nott." He said firmly. I knew that he was referring to the endless network of pureblood families and Death Eaters that used to rule this Government... until Potter defeated the leader and caused all of us enough trouble that you'd think we'd all killed his stupid friends...

"I was appealing to what appears to be a lacking sense of compassion, Mr. Potter, not my husband's lineage." I remarked through a locked jaw.

"Well, I'll tell you this, Mrs. Nott: When I took over this position, I spent the first 10 years trying to straighten out all the crooked, corrupted, and corrosive people in this Ministry. And after 10 years of trying, I finally manage to clean out all the evil of this place, and we've had no incidents since! Now, I won't try and hide the fact that whenever your _righteous_ husband, as you see him, managed to release someone I spent 10 years hunting down from prison, with a case based on some witness I had never heard of before, I couldn't help but wonder why he was fighting so hard to release all the evil back into the world if he were truly reformed."

"Are you accusing my husband of being a dark wizard, Mr. Potter?" I growled as I stood from my chair defensively.

"Not yet, but I am curious as to why he would want to release so many convicted and _guilty_ dark wizards from the prison that they _should_ be in." He replied in a smart tone, also standing from his chair.

"Because he finds you and the Ministries idea of a _good_ prison the most inhumane and torturous place on the planet! He wants to release everyone from that place, not because he thinks they're all innocent, but because he doesn't think it right to torture someone like that until they die! If there were another option for housing these criminals, he would not fight it, but you and your fellow Aurors can't put your brains together to figure out how to do it!" I vented on Potter with such spite in my voice that I'm sure I could have poisoned him with my words had I kept going. He stared at me for a few moments, eyeing me up as a threat, and clearly trying to calculate if he could beat me in a duel.

"Well, Mrs. Nott, humane or inhumane, innocent or guilty, he's made my department look like we're all fools. And so, when I came across the chance to take down the 'Crusader of the Convicted', as the Prophet calls him, I couldn't help but take the chance." He admitted with a tone that mirrored his spiteful attitude.

"So this is vengeance, is it Potter?" I sneered viciously at him.

"Only if he goes to prison, which I'm sure he will." Potter added smartly. I was so tempted to punch him in the face, or stab his eyes out with the quill on his desk that I had to ball my hands into tight, white fists to stop myself.

"Well, whatever evidence you may have against him, he'll outsmart you, mark my words." I threatened. He looked unconvinced, and he sat back down at his desk and began to scribble something on another piece of paper.

"Don't threaten me, or I'll lock you up too." He said without looking up from his writing. "And just think of what a shame that would be, leaving your children to care for themselves while you and your husband serve time in Azkaban." He looked up now, reading my horrified expression. "I can make you cellmates, if you'd like."

"That won't matter, Potter, because like it or not, my husband will _not_ be going to prison! I'll make sure of it myself!" I snarled down at him. He raised a single eyebrow again, and then calmly placed his hands on his desk.

"And what do you suppose you'll do to stop it? If anything happens to Astoria, I will know it was you, Mrs. Nott, so do us both a favour and don't even try it."

"Oh Potter, don't make me laugh!" I growled at him "If I wanted to kill her, I would have done so years ago. No, I just wanted her to leave me alone. But now she's brought all of this out against me, I intend to make her appear so unreliable to the Wizengamot that they will even wonder how such a _wise _wizard like you could fall for her tricks." I said, my tone dripping with the satisfaction that I could, if I wanted, bring out every piece of history and gossip that I had on my little sister, and undermine his case in a heartbeat.

"Well, that being said, Mrs. Nott, I still suggest that you not try to contact Mrs. Malfoy." My brain twitched a little when he called her that. But I let it stay suppressed and I smirked a little. Leaning over his desk, I looked him dead in the eyes and put him in his place at last.

"Potter, you're looking at the Assistant Head of the Department of Defensive and Concealment Charms: I am one promotion away from taking over the whole operation." I smirked a little now as I continued with "Do you really think that any _juvenile_ shield charm that you and your team could manage to hide her with will _really _keep me from finding her?"  
Potter looked up at me and narrowed his eyes slightly. "Doesn't change what I said: anything happens to her, you and your husband will be in prison faster that you can lift your wand to _conceal_ yourself." He snarled.

I couldn't help but smirk. I now stood up straight again, and as I brushed my dress down to smooth out the wrinkles, I asked him if there was any way I could see him before the trial tomorrow. He barked a quick laugh and told me absolutely not, since I was likely to 'contaminate his testimony with the information I knew about the case'. So, at last letting my splitting headache get the better of me, I gave up the fight for the day, and gave him another glare directly into his eyes, and said "I'll see you at trail tomorrow, Potter." He nodded his head, and then put his eyes back down to his work. I turned on my heel and walked briskly out of the office. Once I was out of ear range, I broke out into a run, letting my clicking heels ring loudly through the echoing atrium as I raced over to the nearest Floo Port, and I escaped with the intention of following my children.

**((Lilith's POV))  
**When my mother arrived at Aunt Tracey's, I was fully expecting her to be smiling and laughing, telling us it was all a misunderstanding, and that everyone had gone daft for a few minutes in thinking that he would ever do such a thing. I was, however, vastly disappointed when she showed up, looking as paler than I'd ever seen her, and instantly taking Aunt Tracey into a private room where we couldn't hear them talking. I exchanged looks with Kiki, who gave a weak smile of hope, and then continued to eat the plate of bread and butter her mother had made for us. I hadn't touched it, and neither had Damien; the thought of eating right now made me feel positively sick.

"Why do I get the feeling our lives are about to get turned upside down and inside out?" I muttered to myself as I pushed the plate away from me.

"I'm sure it will all turn out alright..." Kiki offered faintly. Damien looked up from behind his shaggy brown hair like he wanted to say something, but changed his mind almost immediately after, and put his head back on the table. Kiki patted his back gently and turned to me again. "We all know there can be no truth to this. I'm sure once the courts hear all of this, they'll-"

"Kiera, don't you see it!?" I breathed, almost exhausted with the effort "_We _think he's innocent, but why are our parents running around like they're _all _about to go to prison?"

Kiki looked down at her bread and butter again, letting her white blonde curls fall like a shield between my dark gaze. "I don't know..." she mumbled quietly. Then, she turned to Damien again, and in a much sweeter tone, asked if he was hungry. I simply rolled my eyes and put my face in my hands. None of them seemed to be processing the same thing that I was; whether we wanted to admit it or not, my father might very well be guilty... have killed someone! That was a thought I never in a million years could have imagined would seriously occupy my mind! I knew that when my parents were growing up, times were very different; I did take History of Magic, after all. But I always thought that my parents were like all the bystanders of that time, just trying to avoid conflict and trouble. But now with this revelation... I was starting to doubt how innocent and pure my parents really were back then.  
_  
They were in Slytherin... and that was the prime source for all the so-called 'Dark Wizards' of the time..._ I thought as I let out a deep sigh, then rested my head on the table like my brother. I was now exhausted, and it was only the beginning of the evening... That clearly wasn't a good sign of how long my night was going to be...

I must have dozed off as I sat at the table. The next thing I remember hearing was a man's voice from the kitchen, speaking in a slightly raised voice. I raised my head slowly and blinked the sleep out of my eyes. Kiki and Damien were now in the living room; I could see them passed out beside each other on the couch through the doorway. I now focused my attentions on the stranger in the kitchen, silently standing from the chair and creeping towards the doorway.

"...how could Potter think to bring a charge like that out in public!?" Aunt Tracey added in a hissed whisper.

"Well, what I'm more interested in his how the hell she thinks she can charge him in the first place!" I could hear my mother growling, with no effort to keep her voice down. "I swear, if she thinks this is all because of her and-"

"Honestly, Daph, you can't seriously think she's still going on about that damn wedding! It was almost 30 years ago!" the mystery man said in a slightly agitated tone.

"I don't know, Zabini; you tell me! You're still best mates with him, aren't you?... And for the last time, don't _call_ me that!" my mother shot back spitefully at the man she referred to as Zabini.  
_  
Zabini? As in Lysander? _I thought curiously, not letting my intrigue get the better of me. Rubbing my eyes and giving a dramatic yawn, I shuffled into the doorway, and into the sight of the three adults, all standing around the island counter of Aunt Tracey's kitchen. They all froze, mid-sentence some, and turned to me with expressions of shock.

"We thought you were sleeping, Lilsy." Aunt Tracey said first, breaking the silence and stepping forward to put her arm around my shoulders.

"I heard voices..." I mumbled, now looking at the stranger. He was a tall, well-built man wearing a pale purple dress shirt with his black pants. He looked as though he had come straight from work. When I looked at his face, I instantly knew he had to be Lysander's father; the same dark skin, dark eyes, and features that he had, only evidently much older.

"Oh right, you haven't seen each other in a few years..." my mother mumbled awkwardly. "This is Lysander's father, Blaise. He was a good friend of your father and I in school..." she said, nodding her head in the direction of the tall, black man who was now smiling graciously at me.

"I still am your friend, Daphne." He said, giving her a sideways glance before he turned back to me. "Well, look at you! You look just like your mother when she was your age." He said with a bright smile, cocking his head to one side as he looked at me.

"So everyone keeps telling me..." I muttered shyly.

"Let's hope she doesn't look just like her, or you'll have to beat those Zabini boys away with a broomstick!" Tracey laughed, now taking the opportunity to leave the circle and get a bottle of wine out of the cupboard. I looked at my mother in confusion, and she just rolled her eyes, glance at Blaise, and then turned back to me.

"Blaise was in love with me for years... Apparently." She added, taking a drink of her tea.

"Sometimes I think I missed out on a good thing." He winked at me. My mother, however, was not amused, and set her jaw in a snarl that could have scared away even the bravest wizard. "Of course, then, as we all know, I had a change of heart..." he added lightly, before reaching out an accepting the glass of red wine Tracey had just poured.

"Hah! You mean you switched teams!" Tracey laughed as she poured another glass. My mother looked at her with wide eyes, like she was telling her to be silent, but Tracey laughed that off as well "Oh please, as if she can't read the papers! Everyone's seen pictures of him and...oh, what's your partners name again?" Tracey said, looking to Blaise for reassurance.

"His name is Lexes, and yes, I'm sure everyone knows." He said, taking a sip of the wine, then complimenting Tracey on her excellent choice in age. "Besides, I know that Lysander has no problem telling his friends at school." He said, looking at me for some sort of back-up.

"...I know he's gay, mum."I muttered. She looked relieved, but none the less shaken up; It only took me a moment to remember why. "So, Mr. Zabini-"

"Uncle Blaise, please." He added with a chuckle. "You may not remember me, but I am your god-father."

"Alright... Uncle Blaise..." I paused at the awkwardness of the words, but trudged forward none the less. "Are you going to help my father? I know you're very powerful in the Ministry; can't you convince the Aurors that they've got the wrong idea?" I asked firmly.

Everyone was silent. My mother just stared off at nothing, like she was lost in her own world of misery or something. Aunt Tracey had now finished pouring another glass of red wine, and placed it in front of my mother, who looked down at it like it was poison. "Oh... right." She said awkwardly, then slid the glass far away from her, then smiled awkwardly at me. "Forgot she doesn't like alcohol is all."  
_  
As if she could forget something like that... she's always know! Being my mother's sister, you would think she would have remembered.... _I thought suspiciously, my expression reflecting my distrust.

"Well, Lilith, as much as we all know these charges are ludicrous," Blaise started. I was so thankful that _finally_ someone agreed with me! "We can't by-pass the trial that has to occur by law in a case like this." He added in a less optimistic tone.

"What!? You mean he has to go to trial either way!?" I cried, unable to understand how if _he_ thought he was innocent too, then why he would let it go to trial!

"Lilith, it is the law. Even your father can't disobey the law..." my mother finally spoke, still staring down at the counter where the wine glass had been. "You know that."

"Well then why-" I started, but I was interrupted by Blaise.

"Lilith, I will do everything I can to help your father." He reassured me, taking the second glass of wine in his hand and looking to my mother for a moment. "Can she drink wine?"

"No!" Her eyes shot up from the counter, clearly shocked that he even asked.

"Just figured I'd ask..." he mumbled, placing the glass on the other counter behind him. "It's a shame to waste such a good merlot." He added before turning back to me. "I'm sure the courts will see reason, and your father will be released in no time." My mother looked up slowly at Blaise, staring blankly at him like she too needed some reassurance.

"In the mean time!" Tracey added, breaking my attention away from my mother's puzzling behaviour "Uncle Blaise is going to make up for all the time he hasn't visited and stay at your house for a while!" she announced, which clearly was news to everyone but her. "Since Daphne will probably need someone to talk to... and watch out for her." She added in a suspicious tone. My mother stared at her, still confused, and then she caught me staring at her. She instantly cleared her throat and looked down from everyone's eyes.

"...If Blaise wouldn't mind, for a few nights." She grumbled faintly.

"Of course I don't. I've got business I need to attend to in Wales anyways." He said cheerily. "And I'm sure Lysander will love to visit Lilith too, if she won't mind."

"Sure..." I added flatly. He smiled at me, then turned to my mother.

"Don't you think we should be heading back over to your house soon anyways?" Blaise suggested, looking blatantly at his watch. "I think Tracey will want to get to bed soon so she can get to work tomorrow."

"Will you come with me tomorrow, Tracey!?" my mother asked, in a sudden panic of leaving her.

"Well, I don't think they'll let all of us in the court room..." she said quietly. "But I'll stay with Damien and Lilith until the hearing's over, and then we'll meet up after." She said with a faint smile "Besides, Blaise will be more useful to you in a situation like this... I know nothing about the law..." she suggested, putting her hand over my mother's death grip on the edge of the counter.

Now my mother looked paler than ever, like she was finally realizing that this was all real. Tracey and Blaise exchanged looks, and then Blaise turned to me and asked me to go wake up my brother while they took my mother outside for some air. And with that, each of them taking one arm, then led my mother away and in the direction of my Aunt's back porch.

I stared in the direction that they had left, and then the clanging of the cuckoo clock above the kitchen window caused me to jump with surprise. It was almost 2:30 in the morning! I had no idea I had passed out for that long! Then, as I turned towards the hallway that would lead me to my slumbering brother, I saw the glass of red wine out of the corner of my eye, and I paused to stare at it. After checking to see if my mother was watching me or not, I quickly sniped the glass off the counter and took a giant gulp of the dark red liquid. I gave a great shudder at the taste of it, like I had just swallowed some nasty potion, and then put it back on the counter quickly. Maybe it was the hangover from last night still wearing me down, or perhaps it was just the fact that wine tasted disgusting, but I thought that I now understood why my mother never drank...


	6. Chapter 6

**AN:_ I'm so sorry it has taken me so long to update this story! I've been insanely busy with school! I hope this will hold you off! Remember, I work faster when I have reviews :)_**

((DAPHNE'S POV))  
I awoke in a cold sweat that morning. I hadn't slept at all the night before, and I had spent the whole night staring at the ceiling, tossing and turning in the bright moonlight. All I could think about was that tomorrow, I would be watching a preliminary court of my husband's co-workers, judging if he was to be put on trial for a crime that I knew he committed.  
_  
Lord, I hope he's thought of a good defence... Surely he can think on his feet well enough to clear this whole thing up... He's done it for countless others; what defence would he know better than his own! _I thought over and over again throughout the night. If the evidence was strong enough to prove he committed the crime (which I knew, no doubt, existed, but hoped that had been destroyed or lost in the Battle of Hogwarts), I knew that he would be able to come up with a strong enough defence. And that was all he would need: justification for his past sins, as hundreds of dark wizards had done since the fall of the Dark Lord. Surely, once this ministry saw that he was merely defending me and my sister, the Wizengamot would understand. They had cleared countless others of their crimes, many who had done things far worse than Theodore. But, of course, with Potter behind the charges, it may not be so easy...

These thoughts kept me up all night. My eyes were red and swollen with the tears of fear and anxiety of what this afternoon would bring. It would decide if my husband would be put on an actual, criminal trial. If that happened, then there would be the whole process of inquiries, questioning, and deliberations, followed by a verdict. The process would be exhausting, not only for Theodore, but for myself and our children.

_Our children..._ I thought, eyes getting watery again. Just thinking of putting them through this made me want to curl up in a hole and die. Theodore had been the greatest and most loving father there had ever been. Nothing of the quiet, vindictive Theodore had come out of its dormant state since that fateful night that the Wizarding world changed. He had never spoken to anyone, except for me and Tracey, about any of the events he participated in that night. As far as the Wizarding world was concerned, Theodore was running around Hogwarts, looking for me the entire battle. For all of that to come out as a lie, and for our children to learn the unfortunately shameful truth of both their parents past would destroy their belief in the goodness and purity of both of us. For that reason, I knew that no matter how much my precocious daughter or stubborn son begged, I would not let them come inside for these trials: I would never, ever willingly expose the truth of their parents' lives to them. The last thing I needed was to lose my children over past mistakes that my husband and I could not foresee going wrong.

I heard a knock at the door. I didn't even flinch at the noise, nor did I answer. A few seconds later, the door creaked open.  
"Sleeping?" I heard the faintly familiar yet comforting voice, with a flare and flirtation I had grown accustomed to many years ago. When I didn't answer, he chuckled, and I could hear the door close, followed by footsteps into my room. "I thought not." He sighed as he walked over to the side of the bed, usually occupied by Theodore, and sat down on the edge. I had my back to him, facing out the window, watching the sun rise slowly. "Kids are awake. Did you want to come down for breakfast?" When I didn't reply, he sighed and stood up, walking around the bed and sitting on my side at my feet. "You just not going to talk all day?" he asked with a small smirk.

"If I do, I'm likely to curse the entire Wizengamot council, and then some." I mumbled, still staring out the window.  
Blaise laughed and put his hand on my leg. "Always did have a way with people, didn't you." I now turned my face and gave him a blank, yet sinister stare.

"When they threaten my family, yes." I grumbled.

"Daphne, we both know that will get you nowhere." He smiled patronizingly. I rolled my eyes and returned to staring out the window. "Look, Daph" he started. I shot a dark glare at him, and Blaise instantly recovered "Daph_ne_" I relinquished my harsh glare and stared out the window again. "I'll come with you today. They'll let me in because I've got friends in high places." He paused as he waited for me to say something. "I don't want you to go in there by yourself, alright?" he said, more as a command then a suggestion "You and I both know that the last thing Theodore needs is for you to be shouting incriminating statements to the court-"

"I wouldn't incriminate my own husband!" I snapped, sitting up angrily. Blaise gave a satisfied smirk at my reaction, and I instantly felt foolish for falling into his trap. "Look, Blaise, I know you mean well, but I really don't think that Theodore would appreciate seeing you, sitting beside me as he's up for trial"  
Blaise laughed heartedly, and gave my leg a reassuring tap. "I can reassure you, Theodore and I made peace about that long ago." He smiled. I narrowed my eyebrows at him, waiting for an explanation. "I'm gay, remember?" he said with a light, airy tone. I sniffed a quick laugh, then turned from him as I climbed out of bed. My night dress was black and made of lace; remnants from the days I had a younger figure, but it still fit. "See, I told him the truth about my feelings towards you." He said as he stood from the bed, walking to the large bay window that overlooked the Swansea harbour, perhaps to give me a shred of modesty. "I told him that if I wasn't interested in men, there would only be one straight woman I would ever want." I paused in my morning stretch, and looked over my shoulder at him. He turned his head at that exact moment and gave me a small smirk "However, I saw my mother get married more times than I can count on both my hands. I saw her dispose of all those men too." He said, turning back to the window. I sensed a faint spark of redemption in his voice. "So, I know better than to come between then marriage of another. After all, I like my life, and I don't need Theodore coming after me, disturbing me and my husband. Therefore, shortly after I found my true calling in love, I told Theodore that you were all his, and he would never worry about me trying to steal you away." He paused, looking back at me again "Unlike some people." He said with a tiny smirk.

"Don't ever mention that again." I snarled.

"I wonder if he'll show at the trial today." He continued on, light and airily.

"I will knock him so senseless if he does!" I swore violently, now crossing the room and grabbing his arm. "And her. If she comes, I will cut her dead where she stands." I promised through my teeth. Blaise turned his head slowly to face me, smirking to himself.

"Interesting how you want to kill her, but only assault Draco." He remarked smartly.

"She's the only one who knew about Theodore killing Colin. It _has_ to be her who's bringing these charges against him." I snarled, crossing the room and disappearing into my walk-in closet. "I don't know why she's doing it, but intend to find out..." I raved as I whipped through the racks of clothing I had accumulated over the past 30 years. I had never been to court, so I had no idea what to wear.

"So you're sure that she's the one?" he asked curiously, now standing outside my closet door. "How do you intend to prove it?"

"Oh trust me, when the court announces the evidence today, I will find out exactly what her intentions are..." I called from inside the closet

"Through evidence of an incident that really happened over 30 years ago?" Blaise chuckled "Well, that will be interesting, won't it."

I stopped searching and exited the closet, holding pieces of clothing I hadn't worn in at least 15 years. I looked at Blaise for a moment, my eyes reflecting my seriousness. "Look, let's just get this thing over with. The sooner we get to this hearing, the sooner that I can get my husband back, and shut my sister's plan down."

"Sure thing." He smirked. "Whatever you say." He said, leaning on the doorway, crossing his arms with amusement. "Well, perhaps you should pick out something to wear that isn't a ball gown?" he chuckled. I looked down at what I had grabbed in my search: dragging on the floor, caught in another dress, was a bright red ball gown that Blaise and I both recognized only too well. I felt myself blush, which I hadn't done in years, especially around Blaise. The memories associated with this single dress were overwhelming.

"...It's probably a little too formal, eh?" I chuckled, folding it up under my arm. Blaise's expression didn't even falter, so in order to avoid one of his flirtatious comments, I turned around and started to find my dress a new home.

"Well, it would certainly make a show, but I don't think Theodore would enjoy it." He remarked smoothly. I looked over my shoulder at him, then instantly turned back, unwilling to give into his baited conversation.

"I'm assuming black is the typical protocol for this sort of thing then?" I asked absently. There was a long pause where he said nothing, and I looked over my shoulder again to see him staring at me with the same smirk. After a few moments of eye contact, he finally answered me.

"Yes, that would be suitable."

"Good." I said shortly, then turned back to my racks of black material: dark shades were a standard colour for working at the Ministry, so I now had half a closet to choose from. I could feel Blaise's eyes still resting on me, but I wouldn't give in to his silent request again. And, as I expected, after a minute of silence, he finally cracked.

"Well, I'd best get dressed myself, I suppose. Do you want me to wake the children?"

"No." I said quickly. "No, don't tell them. They'll only beg to come with me, and I don't want them in the court room..." I trailed off, looking over my shoulder again only to see Blaise still standing there. "They don't need to endure this." I added quietly. Surprisingly, he nodded, and then excused himself from my room, closing the door with a click behind him.

Left alone once more, I spent a few more minutes digging through my closet until I found the perfect outfit: black pencil skirt, pinstriped white shirt, and a black vest, paired with black patent heels. It was one of my favourite outfits that I wore to work often, but today I figured it was the most formal and put together I could manage.

_Besides, I want everyone in that court room to feel my presence... all of those men and women who we have had over for dinner parties, entertained at ministry galas, and sent Christmas cards to every year, I want them ALL to feel as though they are sentencing their best friend! _I thought calmly as I went over to my vanity, where I looked at my still wet hair. I had showered the night before, but apparently had not given my red locks enough time to dry overnight. So, I took two long pins, and twirled my hair up into a messy bun, then did my make-up. Once I finished, I stared at myself in the mirror. To think, only 24 hours ago, I was sitting in this very chair, chatting happily with Theodore about going to get ice cream with Lilith and Damien, and how excited we were to see our children again. Now, my children were restlessly sleeping in their rooms, wondering if they would ever see their father as a free man again, and I was missing my husband. _Amazing how things can change in such little time._

Breakfast was silent and tense. Damien didn't look up from his oatmeal the entire time, and didn't breathe a single word to anyone. Lilith looked tired, like she hadn't slept all night either. Her hair was messy, tangled and stuck up at strange angles, making her look like she'd been through a rough night of tossing and turning. She too didn't look up from her oatmeal almost all of breakfast, until Blaise came down from the guest room, and told me that we would have to be at the hearing by 1:30 in order to be let in.  
"Mother, why can't Damien and I come?" Lilith asked precociously. I didn't answer right away, as I was busy stirring my tea painfully slow.

"Because a court room is no place for a child." I answered calmly.

"I'm almost of age! Why not?!" she quipped back sharply. I gave her a dark look, which sent her back to staring at her oatmeal.

"Well, if they let children of the accused in the court room, then the ministry would have to worry about the damage it may cause you in the long run." Blaise answered for me. Lilith looked up with a disgruntled face at Blaise, then looked back at her breakfast.  
"I'm full." She announced, pushing her bowl away.

"Eat it, Lilith. You barely touched it." I told her flatly. She looked at me, then defiantly crossed her arms and slouched down in her chair.

"I'm not hungry." She said stubbornly.

"See, this is why we don't let children into court rooms." Blaise mumbled from behind the current issue of the Daily Prophet. Lucky for us, the Prophet only reported that a man was arrested in the atrium yesterday afternoon, and did not mention details in names or the charges. I gave Blaise a sideways glance, then sighed and turned back to Lilith.

"I don't care if you're hungry or not, you're going to eat it. And Aunt Tracey is going to come get you and meet Blaise and I after the trial is over. That is the only thing we can do for you, so stop making a scene and eat your breakfast." I said sharply. She made a face at me, but did not reach for the bowl. I noticed now that Damien had not even picked up his spoon, and was just staring at his food. "Damien, darling, looking at your food will not fill you up." I said in a much gentler tone. He didn't look up or say a thing, but I knew he heard me. Frustrated, I signed and stood from the table, going over to my sons chair and taking the full bowl of oatmeal out from under him, and took it away to the kitchen. "Go to your rooms then if you're not going to eat." I said in defeat. Without a word, both my children stood like robots and exited from the dining room.

"Cheerful meal." Blaise remarked from behind his paper as I picked up Lilith's barely eaten bowl. "Is it always this eventful?"

"No, it's not." I sighed in frustration, sitting back in my chair and leaning my head into my hands. "God, I just want this to be over!"

"Well, I'm sure Theodore agrees." Blaise remarked smartly. "But we both know that this situation can't just be swept under the rug. It will be dealt with it thoroughly, and we can only hope that the courts will side with us. There is nothing else we can do."

"Go tell that to my two depressed children." I retorted back smartly. He looked at me from over his paper, like he was going to say something, but then changed his mind and folded up the newsprint up.

"Well, we'd best be off, shan't we?" he said lightly. I sighed and looked down at my untouched tea. _Guess I know where they get it from..._ I thought painfully.

"Yeah, let's get this over with." I mumbled as I stood from the table, leaving my steaming beverage on the table, not bothering to put it away.

((LILITH'S POV))  
Aunt Tracey had come to get Damien and I at about 2 in the afternoon. The first thing she asked us was how we were feeling. Neither of us gave an answer.  
"Well, that's expected, I suppose." She said quietly. "Alright, ready to go wait for some news?" she asked. Both my brother and I instantly began to move about, putting on shoes and pulling on sweaters. It had been raining since my mother and Blaise had left earlier that morning. I could only hope that it wasn't a sign...

We waited outside the court room for about 2 hours, sitting silent in the dark tiled hallway at the bottom of the Ministry. I had never been down here before, but I could imagine what it was like for my father to come down here every day for work. I wouldn't enjoy it, that was for sure; far too depressing and cold. Tracey had brought a book, which she was quietly humming to herself as she read. I had intended on writing a letter to Scorpius, telling him all about this family drama, but upon arrival, I realized that I had forgotten my quill and ink, so it was useless. Damien stared at the wall ahead of us, and said nothing. I was starting to get very worried about him; he had hardly spoken a sentence since yesterday afternoon. Even though he wasn't much of a talker in the first place, this was just abnormal for him.

_If Kiki was here, she would at least get him to talk..._ I remarked in my head. However, Tracey had told her to stay at home, since having too many people around a court room would be irritating. I wished she hadn't now, but there was no way to summon her from here anyways. So, we all just sat and waited.

Another hour had passed. I couldn't believe that a preliminary trial would take this long! I thought it was just the presentation of evidence and defence mechanisms that would be used in the actual trial, if one was decided to be required. I felt a knot grow tighter and larger in my stomach; maybe this wasn't going so well after all...

_What if they decided to just do the trial then and there? What if they've convicted him already!? No, impossible! My father is innocent!_ I thought frantically. I shifted a little in my seat, then let out a small sigh. Aunt Tracey looked at me from over her book, and gently patted my leg reassuringly.

"I'm sure they'll be out soon." She said quietly. I swallowed the lump in my throat and nodded slowly.

Just then, with a flash of noise and commotion, the doors of the court room flew open, almost coming off the hinges. Tracey was up on her feet in an instant, while Damien and I struggled to recover from the surprise, stood a few moments later. It was such a circus of activity that I hardly knew what was happening. People with cameras flashing, reporters shouting questions, all focused on one individual in the center, being escorted by two men dressed in dark blue.

"Mr. Nott, what do you have to say to those who think this is justice being served after all the criminals you've released from Azkaban?" one reporter yelled. I saw the man's eyes flash with anger, then mumble something quietly.

"Why are these charges being brought about now? Do you think it's fair that such an old crime be brought out now?" another reported called. The man mumbled the same response, which I still could not hear. The noise grew louder, and the flashing lights grew blinding.

"Blaise, for God sakes, be useful and get rid of them!" I heard my mother's shrill voice from behind the pack. Blaise nodded his head obediently, and pulled out his badge from work, flashed it in front of the reporters, and sent them all away. "Thank you." She grumbled. The rest of the court's audience began to exit, filling the narrow hallway with people, all mumbling and grumbling to each other.

"What's the matter, Daphne? Don't like all the attention?" a small blonde woman called from the back of the pack that was exiting the court room. I saw my mother freeze where she stood, not turning around to even acknowledge her. "Oh come Daphne! You can't think that it would take the Auror's this long to find him!" the woman piped louder, making my mother's face turn red with anger.

"Get that hag out of here!" the man in the centre shouted. It was only now that I even recognized it was my father. His hair was uncombed, and he was wearing what I would only assume were prisoner uniforms. I couldn't believe that I didn't even recognize my own father! I tried to call his attention, but the guards started to drag him away. The crowd was now pushing my brother and I off to the sides, and I was having trouble seeing what was going on.

"Malfoy, if you had any sense, you would take your wife home before she starts any more trouble." Blaise warned the man standing next to the small blonde woman.  
_Malfoy? It can't be! _I thought in shock. When I actually got a good look at the two, I saw the man that I had met just the day before. _What on earth are they doing here?  
_

"Oh come Blaise, we all know that you're only here to try and cuckold Theodore." The small woman laughed.

"Actually, I heard that was your trick, but to each his own." Blaise replied back calmly, grabbing my mother's arm and trying to pull her away.

"Well, I hope you comfort her the same way you always have. I wonder what the exchange is this time?" she called again. Blaise stopped for a moment, clenching his fist, but then reluctantly towed my mother along. "I sure hope there are no weddings happening this weekend." She added with a shrill laugh. I had thought that her comment made no sense, but apparently it struck a nerve with my mother, who yanked herself out of Blaise's grip, and rounded on the small woman.

"You really want to play this game, Astoria?" she growled, now standing only inches away from her. "I already intend on destroying you, so you're just adding fuel to the fire."

"I was merely stating a fact that everyone in the ministry surely knows by now!" she said with a wicked smirk. "That you were willing to exchange certain _favours_ in order to have Blaise help you destroy my wedding."  
The crowd around us either let out small gasps, or chuckled quietly under their breath. Most people felt the awkwardness growing too strong to bare anymore, and the crowds began to disperse. It was at this time that I recognized another face standing behind Mr. Malfoy; Scorpius now appeared, looking about as confused as I was. I was tempted to call his name and run over to him, tell him every horrible thing that had happened, but Aunt Tracey had suddenly grasped my wrist, preventing me from moving.

"I'm glad to see some people never change." My mother said in a dark voice. "You're still the spoiled, sour, whiny little baby that you always were, still looking for a weakness to exploit for your own advantage." She said, taking a small step forward and looking her dead in the eyes "Well, I have no weaknesses for you to exploit anymore, and you have no sway over me. So go ahead, try and ruin me. I'll just come back and give you such hell that you'll wish that you'd never been born."

"Oh sister, how your threats have yet to change." She said in a patronizing voice. My ears perked up a little bit. I thought I heard the woman call my mother sister, but that's impossible! Aunt Tracey was my mother's sister. I tried to step forward again, but Tracey had an even tighter grip on my hand. My movement, however, had caught Scorpius' attention, as well as his mother. She looked me dead in the eyes, and I saw a wicked smile cross her lips.

"You are not my sister." My mother replied back mechanically. Her body appeared to be rigid and frozen from an emotion that I assumed was anger. Blaise's face was one of mixed emotion, and I couldn't understand why.

"Of course you would say that, Daphne." The woman named Astoria remarked smartly. "After all, when father disowned you, I guess you wouldn't have much of a family to be a parasite to."

"A lot of big words you're using, Astoria. Dare I hypothesize that you are perhaps now sleeping with an editor or two from the Daily Prophet?" my mother remarked in a tone only matched to her opponents.

"No, Daphne, I haven't. Mainly because unlike you, father would never let me take up with such a worthless man, nor a criminal."

"He saved your _life_!" my mother hissed angrily. "And in return, you throw him to the dogs!"

"C'mon Daphne, let's go." Blaise grumbled, giving a strong tug on her arm, trying to lead her away.

"Saved my life, hardly! Don't make up such wild stories to try and save a murderer." Astoria let out a high-pitched laugh. "Besides, I don't think teaching your children how to lie through their teeth is a moral they need you making an example of."

"Leave my children out of this!" my mother shouted. Now Blaise was practically trying to carry her away.

"Well, I guess if I really wanted to see their moral standing, I would just have to ask them, wouldn't I?" she asked, now turning her head to face me and my brother. Aunt Tracey's grip was still as strong as ever. "Scorpius, I'd like you to meet your cousins Lilith and Damien." She said with a tone of voice that practically dripped venom. It took a moment for me to register what she had just said, then it hit me like a tone of bricks. Scorpius and I were cousins? No! That was impossible! She isn't my mother's sister! Is she? I looked to the back of my mothers head, who now apparently realized that we were there, and turned on her heel, looking as white as a ghost.

"How long have you been standing there?" she asked flatly. Neither I nor my brother made a sound. We were so confused and shocked by this woman's accusations, I was just waiting for my mother to shoot them down.

"We were waiting for you, like you asked." Tracey said quietly.

My mother stared at us for a few moments longer, then she turned sharply again on her heel, rounding back to Astoria. "You will pay for this! If you want to bring me out as your sister, then I will bring every single dirty detail I can recall about you into the light with me!" she hissed. And then, she turned just as sharply again, yanked her arm out of Blaise's grip once more, and took off running down the halls of the Department of Mysteries. Damien and I watched in helpless confusion as our mother ran off, with Blaise followed shortly behind her. Once they were out of sight, Damien turned back to Aunt Tracey.

"You're not our real aunt, are you?" he asked, as if he had known it all along. Tracey looked down at him, and placed her hand on his shoulder gently.

"I think we should let your mother explain all of this..." she said quietly.

Damien and I knew that her answer was as good as a yes. So Aunt Tracey wasn't really our aunt; this horrid woman was! And that horrible woman was Scorpius' mother! The realization apparently washed over both Scorpius and I as we caught each other's eyes. I instantly felt sick. What we did... what we _almost _did! Good God, they lock people up for things like that! I watched as Scorpius' face turned significantly paler, and I knew that he was having the exact same thoughts. Before I could say something to him, his father nudged him to walk down the hall. Scorpius instantly broke away our eye contact, the shame on his face clear. Now the pain had moved up from my stomach to my heart. I wasn't sure if I was breathing or not, but I didn't care. I wanted to run after him, tell him it didn't matter, but I knew that it really did. Cousins couldn't be together, whether they liked it or not. Scorpius' parents now passed us, with Astoria looking smug with victory. She looked at Tracey with a wicked smile, then continued past my brother and I as if we didn't exist. She had exploited us to reveal the truth about our mother to us. I instantly felt the same rage towards this woman that my mother clearly hated.

_My aunt... Aunt Astoria... mother of Scorpius..._ These thoughts ran through my head on a loop, like a record that was skipping. I felt as though I may faint at any moment.

"Let's get home, shall we? No doubt you'll have questions now..." Tracey remarked with a sign once the Malfoy's had passed.

_No shit..._ I thought bitterly. I knew that I shouldn't feel anger towards my mother right now, but how could she keep a secret like this from me! Now she'd ruined my life! And I had no idea how Scorpius and I were going to get past this...


	7. Chapter 7

**_AN: Hello all! So here's a little update, moving the story along slowly yet surely. Enjoy!_**

((DAPHNE'S POV))  
I had never been so infuriated in my life. How dare you bring all of that out! In public, no less! And in front of my _children_!  
_I will kill her... I HAVE to kill her... There is no way I can let her get away with this! She HAS to learn SOMETHING! _  
I didn't even realize where I was walking. I had just stormed off in a direction, taken the first elevator I saw, and somehow wound up near my office. When I finally came back to consciousness from plotting my sister's immanent murder, I realized I was only a few doors away from my office.

"Daphne, slow down!" Blaise called from behind me. As soon as I heard his voice, I felt my body surge forward and run for the door. I didn't want to see him. I didn't want to talk... to him or anyone! I slammed my body against the carved wood with my name labelled on a gold plaque, shining like a mocking reminder of how different my life was now. 'Daphne Nott, Assistant Head for Department of Defensive and Concealment Charms' My name glared back at me with such force that I instantly felt my knees give way.  
"Daphne!" Blaise cried, now mere feet away from me. He wasn't quick enough to catch me, and before I knew it, I was sitting in a crumpled mess on the floor. I could feel sobs coming, but I refused to cry right now. Instead, I gripped my hands into tight fists and concentrated on breathing. "Daphne, are you alright?" I didn't answer his question. "C'mon Daphne, let's get you home." He said quietly, putting his hand on my arm. With instant reflexes, like a dog biting back to its challenger, I shoved his arm off my and reach up to try and open my office door. To my disappointment, it was locked. I felt my wall of strength starting to crack; the tears would soon follow. "Please Daphne, let's get out of here." He pleaded, taking my arm again. This time I didn't swat it away. He pulled me off the ground with strength that I never knew he had, and tried to get me to stand. My legs wouldn't cooperate, and continued to be limp. "Help me out here, Daphne." He chuckled. But when I collapsed back onto the ground again, he stopped laughing. "Daphne, don't you dare give up!" he said, taking hold of both my shoulders and giving me a small shake. "We can still win this! So they're going to proceed with a trial; it doesn't mean he's convicted!"

I now focused my vision and stared at my dear friend, who apparently had not yet understood the mass effect this was having on me. "It's not just that Blaise." I said quietly, my voice a little uneven and weak. "I know we can still win the trial... but I'll never be able to win back my children's trust!" I said, now letting some of the tears slip out. He stared back at me, apparently still unsure of what I was saying. "All their lives, I've lied to them! I've told them that Tracey was their aunt. I've told them that their grandparents died when I was just a child. That I have never loved anyone but your father..." I paused, taking a deep breath before I added my conclusion. "All of _my_ lies are coming out, and it's going to destroy them!" I sobbed, now no longer able to hold back the shame that I had in crying.

"Destroy them? How so?" Blaise asked, gently pulling me into a hug against his chest.

"Oh God, Lilith has had a crush on Scorpius for years! Ever since they started Hogwarts, she would ask to go visit him... but I just always came up with some excuse! She will never forgive me for not telling her that he's her cousin!" I sobbed into Blaise's no doubt expensive shirt. "And to make Damien believe that Kiki was his cousin for so long... I've denied him so much happiness in his life, no wonder he's miserable!"

"What, Damien likes Kiki?" Blaise asked, confused now.

"As nothing more than friends, but they're so close that they practically _could_ be dating!" I explained through my sobs. "Both my children were under delusions, all caused by _me_!"

"How on earth do you know all this!?" Blaise asked, now rubbing my back in an attempt to calm me down.

"Oh, I have a sharper mind than anyone knows when it comes to this stuff... I remember what it was like to be that age better than anyone."

"True, I imagine you have a few memories tied up in that brain of yours that won't escape too quickly." Blaise remarked gently. I stifled back a sob rather unsuccessfully at his words. "But don't worry, Daphne... everything is going to be fine."

"How can you _say_ that!?" I breathed, so repulsed by the thought that everything could work out after all I had done, that I pushed Blaise away from my physically. "Nothing will _ever_ be fine! Not now!" I now tried to stand, but found that my legs were still unwilling to help carry this burden, and I fell onto the floor again.

"Daphne, listen to me." Blaise said, this time catching me and helping me stand again. "We're going to go back to your house. And when you're ready, and you're children are ready, we're going to explain everything to them. And I mean _everything_."  
I stared back at Blaise, confused for a moment at what he was suggesting. Then I shook my head slowly when I at last understood. "We can't!"

"They're old enough to know, Daphne." Blaise said gently. "Lilith will be of age in a year. Damien is almost 15. For someone who is so _wise_ of children, I would think you would remember that we all did some pretty horrible things by the time we were 14."

I couldn't help but deny that he was right. As a group, all of my friends made my children look like angels. And if anything, maybe my son and daughter would learn from my mistakes... maybe. As if my body was feeling refortified by my own thoughts, my legs began to cooperate again. Blaise gave a reassuring smile and put his arm around me for support.

"Alright, let's get home so we can sort all of this out." He said gently in my ear. I didn't reply. I just walked, one foot stepping after the other, with no thought in my head except one: where the hell was I going to start in my grand reveal of my past?

((LILITH'S POV))

I was never one to handle stress and shock well. I always felt as though my insides were being ripped apart whenever something didn't go the way I had intended, or if something happened to someone I loved and cared for. But over the years, what with having to deal with never being able to see Scorpius over the break, I had developed a healthy way to cope with my anxiety. And now that I had the door to my best friend (and first love) closed...no, _slammed_, in my face forever, I couldn't think of anything more to do.

As I sat in the library, which was situated at the far end of the house, I practiced my scales across the grand piano that my parents had owned long before I started to play it. Apparently, my father told me, my mother would plunk out songs on here when she was pregnant with me, and so it only made sense that I be naturally drawn to it. But my mother hadn't touched a piano in years; her pregnancy with Damien was too stressful on her, and she had since forgotten to play. But I had been playing with the instrument since I was tall enough to climb onto the bench. And ever since I started at Hogwarts, I only ever felt the need to play when I wanted to get away from my family. They knew better then to bother me when I was in here. I knew I wasn't the best musician in the world, but I knew my way around the keys, and with a little practice, I could learn a piece in a few hours... not good enough to perform, but to be able to play for myself.

I had found a new book of sheet music buried behind a stack of law files. Inside there were songs that seemed to match my current mood. So, sitting in front of my therapist, I slowly plunked out the notes, trying desperately not to think about the news I had learned today.

_Cousins... not even distant cousins! That would be too merciful... no, first cousins! _I thought, letting my fingers hit a wrong note as the word 'cousin' sheered through my train of thought over and over again. _How could she have not have told me?! How on earth could she not have had the decency to tell me that my best friend is actually related to me! _I sighed aloud as I flipped the page over to the next movement of the piece. _Everything is going to be different now... I just know it! The way he looked at me! God, he was hate me for what we almost did! But how could we know any different! It's not like we ever had an inclination of the truth!  
_I thought I heard a noise outside the door, and I stopped playing, waiting in silence for someone to say something, or a knock. When I heard nothing, I sighed and kept playing. _Why didn't Aunt Tracey ever say anything? I understand that she was obviously in on this whole charade, but I would hope that she of all people would have the decency to tell me something... and Blaise must have known as well! Why did all these people keep secrets from me! _

"You play rather well." A voice said from behind me, making me up in shock. I swivelled around on my bench and say Blaise standing beside the door, leaning against of the book shelves. I said nothing, only stared at him with red, swollen eyes. He stared back at me for a second, then gently pushed himself off the wall and sauntered across the room. "I often wish Lysander had the patience to learn, but he's too much like me." He paused, now standing beside the piano, facing me. "Too interested in sports." He remarked with a smirk. I tried my best to give him some reaction, but failed. "I know that what you're going through is hard. I'm not about to tell you 'I know how you feel' because I don't, but I do know that there's no sense in going it alone." He told me in a calm, yet reassuring voice. If only his words had the same effect.

"Easy for you to say; you have friends and family that you trust and will listen to you." I mumbled, fiddling with the sheet music that was beside me on the bench, shaping them into a neat little stack. "My best friend probably will never speak to me... and my supposed 'family' is now either locked up or not even related to me."

"Well, your mother and brother are still here, and they are without a doubt related to you." Blaise corrected. I sneered a little bit, then turned back to my music. "And who you consider family isn't based on blood and birth. It's who you care for the most in the world, and vice versa."

"I appreciate the pick-me-up chat, Mr. Zabini, but I'm really not in the mood to even think about who I thought was my family, and who apparently really is." I remarked through my teeth. Blaise stared back at me, unmoved by my hostility. "The lies that I have been told have now completely ruined my life! So don't be surprised if I seem coarse and resentful when people mention my 'family'." I added, before i turned back and began to plunk out notes on the piano, decisively ignoring Blaise.

"Yes, you were told lies, but they were told to you for a good reason." Blaise acknowledge "But I'm not going to be the one to tell you all about that. The reason I came here was it to tell you that your mother wants to speak to you and Damien in the living room."

"Why, is she going to tell the truth for the first time in her life?" I remarked bitterly.

"Yes." Blaise remarked lightly. "Or at least the first time in _your _life." He added, before he adjusted his coat. "We'll be waiting." He said, before he walked past me and exited the library, leaving me alone again.

I sat there for a few moments, pondering over what he said. I then decided that I wasn't going to let me mother's petty attempts to win back my trust work; she would have to work harder then that. But as I continued to play the songs written on the old, faded pieces of parchment, I could feel my curiosity getting the better of me. After I finished playing one of the more sober movements of the piece, I felt my hands freeze, as if they were too curious to play on. I sat there for a moment, running through all the possibilities of what she could say. Then, I let out a defeated sigh, and stood from the piano, slamming my hands on the keys to make a loud, crunching chord, before I left the room, letting my curiosity sway me once again.

As Blaise had said, my mother was sitting in the living room, in between Tracey and Blaise on the couch, holding each of their hands. I was secretly pleased that she looked worse than I did; at least I knew she felt bad. My brother was sitting on the couch opposite of my mother, which was apparently where I was supposed to sit. I looked at all the occupants of the room with no expression, then trudged over to where my brother sat, and sat down with a thud.

"Thank you for joining us, Lilith." Blaise said with a thankful smile. He then turned his head to my mother, who was starring down at the floor in front on her feet.

"Alright, Daphne." Tracey said with a small sigh. "Let's get this started." She said, giving my mother's knee a reassuring tap. My mother let out a ragged sigh, and then looked up at me and my brother. Damien was sitting as straight as a board, as usual. I, however, was lazily slouching against the over-stuffed arm of our leather sofa. Mother then looked from Tracey to Blaise, who each gave her a little nod of encouragement.

"I suppose the easiest place to start is at the beginning." My mother mumbled.

"Also the logical place." Blaise added. Tracey rolled her eyes, then gave my mother's hand a reassuring squeeze. She smiled weakly, and then turned to us.

"My parents..." she paused, taking a moment to think. "My parents were Lennox Greengrass and Medea Roux. We lived in a large house that belonged to my father's family, in Woodbridge, beside the river." She paused again. "I had one sibling; a younger sister named Astoria. She was beautiful, like my mother was when she was younger. My parents favoured her; everything she did was perfect. I, on the other hand, was not so lucky. I had to struggle to gain my parents approval, and even when I did, it would quickly be outshined by my little sister.  
"This wouldn't have been so bad if it weren't for the fact that my sister was consistently jealous of me, for lack of a better word. All she ever did was try and outshine me more and more, for she was not content on being the sun compared to a star; she wanted to be the only bright object in my parents sky." She paused again. "We fought constantly. Over our parents' unfair treatment, over her constant stream of boyfriends... everything that sisters were supposed to share secrets over, we used against each other as part of our little war." She now looked up at me. "Now you know the background story." She sighed, then added "Now for the bad stuff..."

"It's alright, Daphne." Tracey whispered, once again giving my mother a reassuring squeeze.

"When I started Hogwarts, my father and Lucius Malfoy, Scorpius' grandfather, worked together. I was told to be friendly and helpful to Draco. Luckily for me, we became friends. Unluckily for me, in hindsight, I fell in love with Draco."  
_  
Whoa... what!? _I thought, my confusion apparently evident on my face, as my mother instantly looked away from me.

"I was in my 3rd year when I started to develop feelings for him. And they grew stronger and stronger until the end of Hogwarts, when he finally broke up with his girlfriend and we began to date one another. But after I returned from a job at the Quidditch world cup, I was horrified to find that my sister had swooped in and taken my place, and Draco was now dating her."  
_  
...Wow. This woman sounds positively evil! _I thought, imagining how I would have felt in my mother's shoes if it had happened to me.

"My parents refused to acknowledge that she had done anything wrong, and even went as far as to accuse me of being dramatic, as they always did. Well, I'd heard enough of it, and I left my house. I initially moved in with Tracey, but then I moved on to find my own flat." She paused for a few minutes, glancing at Tracey, who nodded at her. "I unfortunately developed a bit of a drinking problem, and nearly died. I wasn't very good at handling such stress..." she added quickly, as if trying to avoid the subject. In my mind, I put two and two together; recovering alcoholics often refuse all alcohol until they die... or so I had been told. "Then, it just so happened that I was invited to Astoria and Draco's wedding. And I came up with a plan to ruin it. In order to do this, however, I needed someone's help..."she now looked at Blaise. "And Blaise, being Blaise... offered his help with certain conditions attached..." she mumbled. I exchanged confused glances with my brother, and luckily Blaise decided to fill in the gaps.

"Yes, your mother and I have had sex. And it was before I found my true calling." He said flatly.  
_  
That might have been an over-share..._ I thought, staring at the two of them for a moment before I shook the fresh recollection out of my conscience into my unconscious, where I hoped it would stay forever.

"Thank you, Blaise, for your way with subtle words." My mother muttered sarcastically. "Anyways, my parents were furious at my behaviour at the wedding. We got in a huge argument, and my family disowned me... with a little help from me. I had no desire to see either of them again, and I left the wedding, once again to Tracey's."

"She practically lived there." Tracey remarked with a small chuckle.

"Anyways," my mother continued. "That was the night I was re-introduced to Theodore, who I hadn't seen since the Battle of Hogwarts. I ended up going to stay with him, and the rest is history..."

There was a long pause between everyone. Then my mother cleared her throat and continued. "Well, that's how I got to hate Astoria Greengrass. When you were born, Lilith, I knew that you would need some sort of relative, since Theodore was an only child, and I now had no family. So, we asked Tracey to step in and taken on the role of Aunt. Unfortunately, you both took the word a little too seriously and thought that she was actually my sister...Theodore and I thought it would be better if we just played along..."

"You haven't told us why father is on trial yet." My brother remarked flatly from beside me, still sitting frozen in the same pose he was when I came in. There were awkward glances exchanged between my mother, Blaise, and Tracey, and then Blaise cleared his throat.

"What you need to understand before you mother explains," he said slowly. "Is that times were very different when we were growing up. We had parents that were part of... well, a cult, that followed Voldermort, a very powerful and terrifying wizard. And as the children of his close followers, we were all expected to do our part in helping the cause."

"The way one is socialized as a child, you can learn to justify anything, so long as it's what has been taught to you as being just and right." Tracey added. "We were all taught that Voldermort was righteous, and that with him in power, the entire world would be back to the way it should be."

"Some of us believed it all the way through... some of us lost our faith before the war even began." My mother now added. "Your father fell somewhere between the two. His parents were Tobias Nott and Lucretia Rosier. Unfortunately, Tobias was a strong supporter of Voldermort, and was very deep in said cult... and when he found out that his wife had been cheating on him with a fellow Death Eater... well, he grew very enraged, and killed her."

I stared back with a blank, yet terrified look on my face. _Are you serious!? My grandfather was a murderer too?! _I felt a giant knot growing in my stomach, turning slowly like a ticking time bomb.

"Tobias went to prison and was released several times due to errors in the trial, all to do with evidence and changing witness testimony. But your father... well, he never took it very well. He always wished to get out from under his father's shadow... escape the reputation of his father's crime." My mother explained gently. "I don't want you two to ever question the man you know as your father: that _is_ who he really is. But when one is pressed with life or death...whether if be yourself, or your best friend, or the love of your life... your priorities change. And on that fateful night, the one with your father is in prison for, he had to make a choice that he didn't want to make, but did none the less."

"And what choice was that?" I asked, confused by my mother's attempt to avoid the subject. She looked at me for a moment, then sighed and continued.

"At the Battle of Hogwarts, there was complete chaos. My sister, being the stubborn and eternally jealous creature that she was, couldn't stand the thought that I was allowed to be on the castle grounds while she could not due to her age. So, when she got herself into trouble, my parents sent me to go find her and bring her to safety. When I found her, she was fighting off 4 others with the help of a very dimwitted friend. I went down there to try and pull her out, but she refused. And while she was fighting against me, the 4 others that she had been duelling, turned their spells on me. One of them was Colin Creevey." She paused, as if remembering that very moment. "I saw a flash of green fly past my face, and then a flash of green strike Creevey almost right after... I didn't see who had killed him, but the others fled. It turned out that Theodore had followed me, trying to protect me from harm. He waited until all the others had left before he revealed himself, and demanded that my sister go to Hogsmead, which she finally did."  
There was a long pause amongst all of us again.

"So, father killed this guy to save you?" My brother asked, trying to get the main theme of the whole story out of my mother.

"Yes, he did. But even that is not a reasonable excuse for killing another... especially since he was fighting for the side that eventually won. Colin, that is..." My mother clarified. "Your father and I thought that no one would ever find out. But when he was arrested, I knew who it was that had told Potter... the only other person that was there."

"Astoria." I repeated slowly. She nodded and clenched her fists tightly around Blaise and Tracey's hands.

"But why?" Damien asked, the concern in his voice not masked what-so-ever.

"I don't know..." she said with a frustrated sigh. "I don't know either... she hasn't tried to contact us in years... hasn't bothered us in any way in decades."

"Although Draco was a little harder to get rid of." Blaise remarked under his breath. My mother glared at him, but did not comment on it.

"So... father _is_ guilty?" Damien asked quietly. My mother looked at him with pained eyes.

"Yes. In the eyes of the law, yes. But when he explains his reasoning to the court, I'm sure he will be let off." She smiled gently, but I could see in her eyes that she really wasn't that sure.

"And Kiki isn't really my cousin?" he asked in the same tone.

"No, she's not." My mother said, a little more relief in her voice at the subject change.

There was a brief moment of silence before Damien sighed and said "Alright. Thank you mother for explaining all of this."

My mother looked positively amazed by his reaction, but told him she was happy that he was taking it so well. I knew the real reason why he was taking so well: now he and Kiki can turn their 'practically dating' relationship to actually dating. I, on the other hand, had to go the opposite way...

"Lilith? Are you alright?" Tracey asked me. I looked up from the floor that I had been staring at and nodded my head slowly. She didn't seemed convinced, and she looked at my mother.

"Lilith, darling... I am truly so so sorry for never telling you the truth... I had always just hoped that you two would remain friends." She said with genuine remorse on her face.

"We're nothing but friends." I added quickly. I didn't want anyone to think that we had done anything! My mother, who seemed suspicious of my reaction, nodded her head slowly and then let out a sigh. She released both of her friends hands, and looked at my brother and I again. "Now you know everything." She said with a look of sorrow on her face. My brother, being his emotional self, got up and gave her a hug. I, however, sat in my seat, still processing all the information she had just given me. I wasn't even sure where to start!

"I'm tired. I think I'm going to go to for a nap." Mother sighed, standing from the couch and giving Damien a kiss on the forehead. "Why don't you ask Tracey if she will go get Kiki?" she suggested, smiling at Tracey. She then looked up at me. "I'm sure Lysander would like to see you as well, Lilith."

"No, I'm fine." I mumbled. When she stared at me, trying to see into my soul apparently, I added. "I think I'll have a nap too."

My mother nodded, and I took this as my permission to leave the room. I got up from the couch, and headed out of the room, up the stairs, and into my room, where I would spend the next 24 hours, contemplating everything that my mother had told me.

((DAPHNE'S POV))|  
"Well, that went well." Tracey remarked brightly. I gave her a sideways glance before I gave a sigh on relief.

"As well as could be excepted..." I mumbled as I stood from the couch. I noticed my son was still standing close by my side. "Darling, go send Lysander and Kiki an owl. I think we should have them join us now..." Damien smiled, and excited the room, looking not any less heavy-hearted, but looking a little more hopeful and understanding. Now that my child was out of the room, I let out and even deeper sigh, and turned to my two supporting friends... my _only_ supporting friends now that Theodore was locked away.

"Time for some relaxation?" Blaise suggested knowingly.

"You read my mind..." I replied quietly. "Feel free to take the guest house, Tracey. I'm sure Kiki will spend a good chunk of the night in here, but I'm sure you'll be comfortable out there."

"No problems here." Tracey smiled "But I'd like Kiki to come out to bed eventually... just because they're not cousins as of 6 hours ago doesn't mean they can jump right into any of that stuff." She said with her typical straight-forward sense of humour. I let out a small chuckle, and then gave her a hug goodnight before she left. I then turned to Blaise.

"I want you to stay in the house, Blaise." I said in a much darker tone. He didn't seem surprised, but raised his eyebrows with a look of curiosity. "I just... feel like I need a man in the house..." I mumbled quietly, distracting myself with the cushions on the couch that I felt I needed to fix all the sudden. Blaise stared at me for a moment, and then he gave me an understanding smile.

"Don't know how much 'manly' protection I can provide..." he said with an odd tone, but then he sighed and stood up from his seat. "But I suppose it's my duty, as a friend."

"Thank you." I said in barely a whisper before taking a look at the clock above the mantel piece. "Well, I think I'm going to go have a soak." I remarked vacantly as I turned to the lights floating above us in the form of candles, and with a flick of my wand extinguished them.

"And I should probably get my son here before nightfall." Blaise said in the same tone, walking over to the fireplace that served as a predominant mode of transportation out of my house. I mumbled a quick good-bye and told him I would see him soon, to which Blaise nodded his head and then disappeared into the fire in a flash of green.

When I got upstairs, I noticed that there were lights shining from under both my children's' doors. I could hear faint voices, much happier than before, coming from Damien's room. Kiki must have arrived. But from Lilith's room, I heard nothing. Not even music. I wasn't sure what she could be doing in there, but I didn't want to disturb her either way. So I silently moved past them both and towards my own room, which I had hoped I would return to tonight with my husband. As I moved towards the bathroom, where I would be taking a long, hot bath in our tub that rivalled the prefects' bathroom at Hogwarts, I looked out the window and the sunset in the distance out over the bay. There was dark clouds way off in the distance, moving slowly towards our town.  
_  
Just my luck... it will probably be a huge storm. _I thought solemnly as I turned on the taps. At this point in time, I really didn't care about the weather, truthfully. All I wanted to do was attempt to unwind.

**_AN: REVIEW PLEASE!! THE MORE YOU REVIEW, THE FASTER I WORK! _**


	8. Chapter 8

_**AN:**__** (sigh) Sorry this took so long...I've been super SUPER busy these past few months. But now I finally got the chance to do some updates, and I'm taking the chance! So, enjoy!**_

((LILITH'S POV))  
I sat on my bed, staring out the window for hours. I had grown accustom to this type of pastime over the past couple of days. I wasn't in the mood to deal with being the 3rd wheel to my brother and our former cousin. They were sickening at the best of times; now knowing that they were, in fact, not related, was going to make worse. Even though I knew Lysander was on his way, I had no desire to see him. In fact, I didn't want to see anyone except Scorpius. The look he had given me today still haunted me. All I wanted to do was just throw myself into his arms and say it didn't matter! Of course, I knew that it did matter a great deal... But I could at least tell him that it wasn't our fault, and that what we did couldn't be seen as wrong because we had no idea! I looked at my quill and parchment, sitting on my desk just beside me. I stared at it for the longest time before I finally stood and threw myself into the chair. I had barely scribbled the words 'Dear Scorpius,' when I heard a knock at my door.  
"I'm not hungry." I replied instinctively.

"I'm not offering." A familiar voice said from the other side of the door. Then it opened a crack, and I could see Lysander's green eyes smiling at me. "Can I come in?" he asked cautiously.

"I suppose so." I sighed, trying to show him that I was happy he was here, but I couldn't find the strength, nor the motivation to show any emotion. Lysander entered my room and shut the door behind him. He now stood beside it with his hands in his pocket.

"How are you feeling?" he asked me awkwardly. I shot back a look that I did not wish to discuss it, and he instantly took the hint, making a small face at his mistake. "Okay, let's try 'what are you doing?'" he asked, crossing the room towards my desk. I instantly crumpled the parchment up in my hands and threw it under my desk. He looked at me, then sighed and went to sit on the edge of my bed. "Do you want me to leave?"

"No... I just don't want to hear all the small talk that everyone has been giving me for the past couple days." I remarked flatly. Lysander stared at me for a moment, then nodded his head slowly. "I mean, it's not like my father is dead! I don't need people saying they're sorry every 5 seconds. It's just a reminder that he's not here when he should be."

"Lucky I didn't say I was sorry then." Lysander remarked with a small smile. "Come sit." He said, patting my bed. I rolled my eyes and stood from my chair, trudging around my bed and diving onto it head first, burying my face in the covers. Lysander, who was sitting by my head now, patted me gently on my back. "I heard about what happened at the ministry today." He said cautiously.

"Oh, joy. I'm glad to hear that the gossip is spreading already." I remarked, my face still buried in my bedding.

"My father told me, if it makes you feel better."

"Oh, well that's comforting." I replied sarcastically. I now lifted my head and added "Did he also tell you that he's also slept with my mother? Isn't that a lovely thought?" After I gave him a small sneer, I flopped my head back down and gave a great, heaving sigh.

There was a pause in the conversation, and Lysander chuckled quietly to himself. "So Daphne Nott is the one, is she?" he remarked absently. I sat up again and asked him what he was talking about. "Well, when I first learned that my family was... different" I looked at him strangely for a second "Having two father's isn't the norm, is it?" he added with a small smile. "I remember I asked him if he had ever loved a woman. He told me he had loved one, but that he had ruined his chances as more than a friend long ago, and he had come to terms with this, and accepted what he called his 'true calling'." He paused again and chuckled. "I guess your mum is the one, eh?"

"Well I don't think she was called Daphne Nott at the time..." I muttered quietly. Lysander looked at me with furrowed, confused brows. I sighed in defeat; I had to explain everything to him now. "My mother's maiden name wasn't Davies as I previously assumed."

"Please don't tell me it was Weasley!" he said quickly. I sniffed a quick laugh, wishing that it had been.

"No, it's not." I looked at him and then sighed. "It's Greengrass."

Lysander looked past me now, muttering the name to himself a few times. "Who do I know with that name..." he said quietly.

"Take your time. You'll figure it out soon enough..." I muttered as I sat up on my bed and leaned against my headboard. Then, like a light had been turned on in his brain, his expression went from confusion to realization in under a second.

"No way!"

"Yes way." I remarked shortly.

"Astoria Greengrass! Scorpius' _mother_!"

"None other. Vile woman." I remarked lightly before I sighed and sank further down into my bed.

"But wait... doesn't that mean-"

"Yes! Please don't say it!" I interrupted him in frustration. I had having enough trouble coming to terms with it on my own, I didn't need anyone else verifying it aloud.

"Wow... that's quite a twist." I now glared at Lysander, then found solace in staring out my window at the approaching dark clouds. "Well, it's a good thing you were nothing more than friends!" Lysander said with a small chuckle. When I didn't answer and continued to stare out the window, he caught the hint quick enough. "No WAY!" Lysander said, jumping from my bed and leaping in front of my view. "When! What! How! When!" he asked so frantically I think he had just forgotten that I was related to Scorpius.

"Lysander, _please_!" I cried, standing from my bed and crossing to my dresser, where I stood in front of my mirror, breathing slowly as I tried to calm myself.

"I'm sorry Lilith, it's just... wow! I had no idea!"

"It only happened the night of that dance." I replied back with a sigh. "Not even a week ago."

"And here I thought it had been going on for years!" he said with surprise. I now turned and faced him with a hard expression. "What? I thought he had a thing for you for ages!" he remarked with a shrug.

"Well that doesn't help me, does it!" I cried again, now once again throwing myself head first onto my bed, this time grabbing a pillow and covering my head with it so I couldn't see anything but darkness.

"Ok, I can see why you're upset." Lysander said, once again sitting beside me.

"Try me." I replied sarcastically, although it may have been muffled by the pillow.

"Well, obviously you wanted to snog his brains out this summer, and now you can't because it's illegal and kinda creepy."

"Lysander, shut up or I'll kick you out!" I shouted from under my pillow.

"I was kidding... trying to make an awkward situation a little less... awkward." He said gently. "But I really can see why you're sad." He paused, waiting for me to yell at him again, no doubt. "Tell me if I've got it wrong, but now you're torn. He's your best friend, and so of course you've have plutonic feelings for him before, but now that they've turned into something more, you've found out that you can't feel that way for him, and now you've got to try to force yourself to retract to plutonic mode. Right?"  
I had to hand it to Lysander; he had a good chunk of the answer.

"It's not just that, Sandy."

"Please, do not call me that." He replied with a sigh. I ignored him.

"I mean, yes, you're right," I said, now sitting up from the bed and holding the pillow in my lap. "It's also the fact that I now know why my parents would never let me visit him; they _hate_ his parents! And now I have to deal with my brother, who is surely relieved to find out that Kiki, his best friend in the whole friggen world, can now be more than friends... thank God because he needs a girlfriend." I now paused and sighed "But as soon as people at school catch wind of it, questions are going to start being asked, and sooner or later, people will find out that Scorpius and I are related... and then it will just get awkward."

"How will it get awkward? You can act just like you were as friends."

"No. We can't." I replied flatly. "You didn't see his face today. He's horrified by what has happened! He'll never forgive himself for it... and he'll probably never speak to me again. "

"You don't know that-"

"I mean, how is this our fault! It's our parents who shouldn't have kept something like this secret from us! Surely they could have seen the problem that would come out of it!" I continued ranting. "And it's not like we slept together or anything!"

"You didn't!" Lysander asked, apparently surprised. I looked at him with complete mortification.

"No! What kind of girl do you think I am! I'm not Magnolia or Malia!" I exclaimed, shocked by his assumptions. He raised his hands in surrender and prepared for an assault of pummelling fists that never came.

"I just thought that maybe you had since you were both so drunk! People have done it with even less of a reason!" he clarified. I sighed and slumped down into my bed in defeat.

"If we had, this would all be much worse." I mumbled quietly.

Lysander now sighed and crawled over to sit beside me and put his arm around my shoulders. "Look, just give it time. Don't you think that Scorpius is having a hard time with this realization too? He obviously liked you, and now he knows that he can't have you." I didn't say anything; I hadn't considered that. "So I'm sure once school comes back around, you two will be back to being the best of friends, and this will all be behind you."

"I can only hope." I sighed, leaning my head against his shoulder. "Thanks Sandy."

"Please, I'm begging you, do not call me that!"

Just as I started laughing, I giant crack that sounded like thunder made us both jump. I looked at Lysander, who was looking out the window at something. Curious, I now jumped off my bed and over to my window to see what the commotion was. The sky was clear all around our house, but right above us was the darkest rain cloud I had ever seen. The sun was setting across the bay, and I knew that soon enough the whole area would be under the cover of darkness with this storm... but what was it hovering just over our house? No sooner had I thought this did I see a long streak of black smoke fly past the boarder of our property. It looked as though it were searching for something, and then just when it was about to pass out of my sight, I saw what it was looking for. The smoke back away for a moment, then flew directly at the house, but was stopped by an invisible force field that shot it back. Whatever it was, it was trying to get in. Then, as the smoke disappeared out of my sight and to the other side of the house, all of our lights went out, and we were all left in darkness.

((DAPNHE'S POV))

The hot water that surrounded me was like heaven. Although my mind was still going 1000 miles a minute, my body at last was taking advantage of some well-needed rest and pampering.  
_How on earth can then think they have a case to charge my husband with..._I thought in disbelief. _Yes, he's guilty, but half the court is in his pocket! He's helped them all in their times of need... surely they will return the favour. _  
But despite what I was telling myself, I knew that they outlook wasn't that easy to predict. Yes there were many of Theodore's friends on the jury... but there were also many enemies as well. Such is the price in a democracy.  
I sank further and further down into my bathwater, finding myself slipping into sleep for the first time in days. Perhaps it was out of exhaustion, but all I needed to know was that I could finally close my eyes and not find the uncertainty of my life terrorizing me awake. I was almost asleep at last, but it was too true to be true, and I was startled awake by a huge crash outside the bathroom window. I jumped up and see what was going on, and at that moment a light so blinding and bright knocked me straight off my feet and onto my bathroom floor.

It took me a few moments to regain my senses again. I had fallen pretty hard and could feel my arm throbbing with the pain of hitting the tiles. I now noticed that the lights in my house had gone out, and only the vague, grey light from the sun setting in the distance was providing minimal light. Trying to stand from the now wet floor, I slipped a little as I reached for the sink to pull myself up. Groping around on the counter for my wand, I at last found it and lit up the room a little. The shadows and reflection off the mirror made my reflection distorted, and as I leaned in closer to see if I had hit my head, a flash of lighting crashed outside again. In that split second, I caught a glimpse of someone I hadn't seen in 25 years.  
"Lumos Maxima!" I shouted, now terrified by what I saw. Sure enough, when I shone the light away from the mirror and could see myself clearly, I knew I wasn't imagining this. Staring back at me was me... 17 year old me. Instantly, after I waved my arm trying to see if it was a trick or an illusion, I let out a scream in terror. "What's going on!" I cried in confusion to myself.

A couple seconds later, I heard Blaise pounding on the bathroom door. "Daphne? Are you ok!"

"Blaise, help me!" I shouted, still staring at my reflection in disbelief. Without a second's thought the door swung open. In the mirror I could see him standing behind me, also staring at my newly reverted body.

"Oh my God..." he whispered in amazement. "What did you do?"

"I didn't do this!" I cried, frantically touching my face everywhere, trying to find the weak spot of the illusion.

"Wow... just wow." Blaise mumbled in amazement. I could practically see him drooling, and it was at this point that I realized I was still naked. Suddenly shy, I grabbed my robe off its hook and covered up, much to the disappointment of Blaise.

"This isn't good Blaise! How can this have happened!" I said, returning to the mirror again. I hadn't seen myself like this since I was in Hogwarts! My figure had never looked better, my face never so smooth, my curves never so defined! This wasn't something that could be regained by exercise and potions; youth wasn't available in a bottle.

"Well it has to be a spell." Blaise said calmly. "Transfiguration or something. I'm sure it will wear off..eventually."

"Blaise, keep it in your pants!" I snapped sharply. I knew he wouldn't dare cast a spell like this... I wasn't even sure what type of magic this was! "How could this happen? No one in this house would cast this spell on me! Not even Tracey!"

"Maybe it's not from inside?" Blaise suggested.

My brain clicked on at that moment. The whole reason I was standing... the whole reason I couldn't see... I instantly ran over to the bathroom window. Outside, there was a dark cloud hovering over my house, barely concealed by the dusk. The loud crack happened just to my right, and I knew what it was. I turned on my heal and ran past Blaise towards the stairwell.

"Daphne, what is it?" he asked, running behind me.

"Stay up here and keep the kids up here." I told him, running down the stairs and stopping at the bottom. From here, with the library doors open, I could see from one end of my house to the other. I took in a deep breath, raised my hands, and muttered an incantation. Then, like snow falling in the dead of winter, sparkles of magic began to dissolve outside my house, making it look like it was a blizzard outside rather than a summer storm.

"Daphne! What are you doing!" Blaise shouted from the landing. I looked at him and I was about to explain, but the sudden shattering of every window in my house caused us all to duck for cover.

((LILITH'S POV))  
When I heard the second crash, I ran for my door and into the hallway. Not surprisingly, Damien and Kiki were there as well.  
"What the hell was that!" Damien asked, thinking that perhaps I had made the noise.

"I have no idea!" I defended myself. "Where's mum?" I asked, looking around the hall for her. I saw the only light in the entire hall coming from the bathroom. I had taken two steps forward to see if she was alright when a woman came running out of the room, followed by Blaise.

"Who's that!" Damien whispered.

"Daphne, what is it?" We all heard Blaise asked. At this time, Damien and I exchanged very confused looks. I had to give my mother credit for looking pretty good for her age... but it no way did she look THAT good! After staring at each other for a second, we both took off towards the stairs to see what was going on.

"Stay there!"Blaise told us, holding his hand up to stop us at the top of the landing. "Daphne, what are you doing!" he shouted down to the woman that was apparently my mother. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw what looked like sparkles and snow falling from the sky around our house. And then, with a loud crash, glass all around me shattered. We all hit the floor, trying to protect ourselves. Damien had thrown himself over Kiki, and Lysander had pushed himself up against a wall, taking my wrist and forcing me to do the same.

"Stay up there!" My mother called to Blaise. He slowly lifted his head and now appeared to be distracted by something. I too saw it a moment later. The dark, black shadow was now flying around inside the house, circling and circling my mother. She didn't move, and stood there calmly, letting her hair fly around in the whirlwind of smoke. From a distance, I could see her muttering to herself, or maybe it was to the cloud. Slowly, as if she was growing intoxicated by the smoke itself, she lowered her wand, and eventually dropped it onto the floor. Blaise lurched forward in attempt to defend her, but he hit an invisible force field and fell back onto the stairs. I now understood that my mother had put up a shield charm to protect us...but from what I did not know.

((Daphne's POV))  
_Come on...bring it! Do your worst...  
_The smoke circled around me, getting faster and faster. My hair was flying around like I was standing in the middle of a hurricane, and now paper, leaves, and sand were being brought in from outside. The sheer force of this intruding cloud was nearly pulling the paintings off my walls. But I didn't care: I just wanted whoever this was to show themselves.  
Right as I closed my eyes again to wait for the end, I saw visions in my head flashing before my eyes. All smudged together, it was a mix of trysts in classrooms, to dates in London, to a giant fight at a wedding. I didn't even need to think twice to realize who it was.

"Show yourself!" I shouted, eyes still closed. And then, just like that, the wind stopped swirling, and the sound of chaos disappeared. I felt something like a cold mist develop just behind my left ear, and it instantly sent chills down my spine. I now regretted dropping my wand, as I knew I might need it to get him out of my house. I waited with anticipation for him to say something.

"Looking good, Daph"

"Thanks" I replied coldly. "What are you doing here?"

Draco paused, and looked me up and down without even an attempt to hide it. Then, with a small blink, he looked back up and right into my eyes: they were the same bright, piercing eyes he had 20 years ago... but I was determined to not melt at the sight again.

"I figured I'd stop by for a visit, see how you're adjusting..." he now looked around the foyer where he was standing. He took mental note of the expensive furnishings that I had, and chuckled a little at the broken windows. "Quite the charms you had on here...trying to hide from someone?" he asked with a smirk.

"Yes, and I can't imagine who that would be." I sneered. He just chuckled again and continued to look around my home, casually walking away from me and examining the damage he caused.

"Well, if you weren't so good at what you do, I wouldn't have accidently smashed the windows." He stated with a patronizing sigh. I sniffed a quick, sarcastic laugh.

"Yes, because it was an 'accident'. Come on Draco, I know your lies better than anyone." I glared. "Having lived through so many of them, I think I could actually publish a good how-to book now."

Draco stared at me and smiled crookedly. "You still haven't told me what you're doing here. Or better yet, how you found my home in the first place."

"Must you be in such a hurry?" he laughed "I've come to visit you, and you try and throw me out?" he clicked his tongue at me and shook his head "Not very polite. What would Theodore say?"

"He would probably tell me to stab you in the face and rip your entrails out." I said with a stone-cold expression. For a brief second, I saw fear flash before his eyes. But it disappeared behind the cocky, self-assured mask that was Draco...again.

"Well then it's a good thing he's not here, isn't it?" he smirked, now crossing the room towards the stairwell. I felt my throat grow tight again. I had almost forgotten that Blaise and the children were all just mere feet away from this conversation... and without my wand to extend the charm, Draco could find them in seconds. "Is anyone else here?" he asked after staring up the concealed staircase. Surely, he could probably hear the thoughts of everyone upstairs... Lord knows I could, but I was blocking it all out. I hadn't used Occlumency in years, but Draco stirring memories up in my head had brought my concentration off-kilter again.

"Why? Planning on doing a favour for your vile whore of a wife and killing me?" I replied flatly. He turned and gave me an expression of boredom. "What? It would save her a lot of planning, and you know how planning requires a lot of hard thinking for her... it would give her premature wrinkles." I replied smartly. Draco frowned, but continued to face the stairwell.

"Are you sure no one else is here? I would hate for anymore to hear any incriminating evidence that might put your husband further into prison..."

"Or have you replace him, as you should be!" I snapped. Now Draco turned to me, curious as to what I would say now. "I know you and Astoria have something to do with this... she was the only other person who knew what happened that night. It has to be her." I growled. "But what I don't understand is _why_?"

"Well, you know Astoria... she gets into little moods every now and again." Draco said lightly. If I didn't have witnesses, I would beat him senseless or worse right now... "But if I were you, I would be more concerned with how I would defend my husband from being sent to Azkaban."

"If you came here to advise me, I suggest you take it somewhere else. Being the wife of a lawyer has its advantages after all."

"A lawyer that is now in prison." Draco remarked lightly. It felt like a knife being stabbed and twisted into my stomach every time he even hinted at Theodore. I swallowed the scream of hatred I was about to let out, and instead glared at him. "No, actually what I came to tell you will be very useful." He said, now turning away from the staircase and walking back over to me. He stopped a mere foot away from me. I didn't know if it was because I hadn't see him up close in so long, or if it was the 17 year old body I was trapped in again, but I couldn't help but almost fainting like I was a little girl again. "But I have one condition to me telling you this information."

"Oh, this ought to be good." I rolled my eyes, stepping away from him and backing towards the stairwell, now trying to block his mental and physical access to the area.

"You cannot tell Astoria that I told you this." He said with a serious tone of voice. His expression also reflected how true his words were: whatever he was going to tell me, he did not want his wife and my bitch sister knowing it came from him.

"Alright, I'll bite." I sighed, growing impatient with his games, not to mention uncomfortable having him in my home.

"Swear it." He demanded. I laughed almost instantaneously.

"Are you serious! How can I swear something to a person who I know will just go back on his _own_ word?" I laughed again. However, a second later, I reconsidered my remark, and realized that I really had no other choice, since he did hold the fate of my husband in his hands. "I will swear to it if I find the information useful. However, it only counts under the condition that you will leave my property immediately, and never return. In fact, it would be wise if you forget where my home is completely. I can help you do that, if you want." I added, reaching down for my wand. Like lighting, as if he had apparated, his wand was poking into my side before I had even come close to picking my own weapon up. "Don't." he said sharply. "Wouldn't want your children to see the big battle, would you?"  
_  
Damn it._ I thought bitterly. _How could I forget he could read minds?_

Because your emotions are weak and vulnerable, as usual. A voice replied in my head. I turned my head slightly and glared at him. It was only at this point that I realized that he was mere inches from my face... and it was taking every ounce of my strength not to close the gap. I couldn't understand what was wrong with me, but I shoved all those emotions down into my subconscious again, and got back to the matter at hand.

"Fine, I swear. Now tell me what you know."

"You don't even what to know my reasoning?" he asked, pouting dramatically to show his disappointment. I tried to move back and the sight of his luscious lips, but found that he had somehow grabbed a hold of my arm without me knowing. Trapped again, as usual.

"No. I just want to know what you thought was so important for me to know that you stalked me home and destroyed my home."

"Technically, I got your address from Theodore's conviction file." He said proudly.

"Clever." I remarked sarcastically, once again trying to pull away. "Now tell me what you wanted to tell me and get out!"

"Why are you trying to get away from me?" Draco asked, curiously.  
_  
I'm afraid of what you'll do._ I replied mentally, sending images of my children in front of his mind, hoping he would catch the hint. _I would hate for Scorpius to experience a similar shock. _I added, now imagining a long list of men that Astoria had been rumoured to be seeing, lying on Scorpius' desk at school, with people laughing all around him.  
_  
Didn't you tell your children everything? I can feel the sheer rage from your son without occlumency. _Draco replied back. I said nothing, mentally or verbally. I just shook my head, warning him not to go to that part of my life. He took the hint, and let go of my arm. _I don't like putting on a show for people anyways.  
_  
"Since when?" I scoffed aloud, now walking across the room and standing by the portrait of Lucretia Nott, Theodore's murdered mother.

"Since always." He replied smartly. "Now, to the matter of business." He said, twirling his wand absently around his fingers. "Put it this way. If you want to free your husband, I suggest you go visit your parents."

I didn't say anything for a few seconds. I stared back at Draco, completely confused at what he had just said, like it was in another language. Parents? I didn't have any of those... I had wardens and torturers that made my life hell... parents were supposed to nurture and care for their children, not push them down and belittle them. After I processed what he had just said to me, I laughed. And not sarcastically, but a full out, hearty laugh like he had just told me a joke.

"Wow, you had me there for a second!" I laughed, shaking my head and smiling at the joke. Draco smiled too, but I could tell it was not because I had caught his lie, but because I didn't believe me... like he expected me to.

"Go see them. And ask them how many daughters they have." He said, adding a more cryptic theme to the message. I laughed again.

"They have one. That message was clear to me from day one." I replied bitterly.

"Do they?" he asked curiously, planting the seeds of tormenting questions in my brain that he knew would eat away at my sanity until I did as he suggested. I glared at him, then looked back at the stairwell.

"Well, thank you for that information..." I paused, narrowing my eyes at him, hoping he would catch the hint. "I think it's time for you to leave."

"Throwing me out so soon?" Draco asked, raising one eyebrow in confusion. "You're not even going to ask me what I mean by that?"

"No, nor am I going to ask you _why _you're helping me: I know that both explanations will be long-winded and twisted, and I need you to leave. Now." I said sharply.

"Well what if I don't want to leave?" he smirked. At this point, without thinking it through enough for him to read my mind, I apparated behind him, and snatched his wand from his hand, pointing it now directly at his throat. Draco took in a stiff breath, but physically remained unmoved by my assault. "My my, Daphne: it appears you have developed some bite to go with that bark." He chuckled. I ground my teeth a little in my jaw before I spoke.

"Care to see how far I'm willing to take it?"

"Why are you being so violent towards me? I haven't done anything to your family. It's all Astoria, darling."

"Do NOT call me 'darling'" I hissed sharply, now turning Draco towards the fireplace access to the Floo Network. "And if you expect me to believe that, then you're a bigger fool that you were when you married that harlot."

Draco at this point signed "Are you STILL going on about that!" he laughed. "Come on Daphne, it's been two decades!"

"I know." I remarked through my teeth. "But hey, I never said I didn't like to hold grudges. Especially when it comes to those who have put my husband in prison."

"Ah, but let us not forget who your first choice was." Draco remarked smartly. "And that if you had the chance, you would change that choice, wouldn't you?"  
I was so shocked by his words that I stopped pushing him towards the fireplace, frozen with embarrassment and absolute horror at what he had just said. For two reasons: one, that my children were watching the entire episode, and two that he very well could potentially be right! Was he?

In my moment of distraction, Draco turned around and overtook my grip on his wand, now turning it back on me and jabbing it up into the bottom of my jaw. I stood frozen, waiting for him to make his next move, now staring him dead in his cold, grey eyes. "But I think that's a topic for another night, isn't it?" he smirked, staring at me with such an intense stare that I felt like I was falling into an deep sleep, or a dream. He smiled even wider, and leaned in very close to my face. I thought that once again he was going to steal yet another kiss from me, like he did all those years ago. Instead, he veered off at the last second, putting his lips so close to my ear that I felt them momentarily graze against it as he whispered "Until next time." Then, without further encouragement, he backed up from my, releasing me from his grip and yanking his wand out of my hand, and stood inside my fireplace. "See you in court tomorrow."

And with that, he vanished in a flash of green. As soon as he was gone, the charm he had laid on me was gone too: I was back to my real self, not the mirage of my 17 year old body. I stared at the fireplace for a few moments, still in shock as to what had just happened. Then the rapid thoughts of the people hidden behind my charm brought me back to reality. I picked up my wand and snapped my wrist in a quick circle, removing the invisibility charm. And then, I ran to my window, where I stared outside, raised both hands to the now crystal clear sky, muttered to myself quietly, and mended the defensive charms that I had taken down to let the one person I wanted to keep out in. After that endeavour was done a few minutes later, I dropped my arms in exhaustion, and slowly turned to my friends and family, all of whom were staring back at me, waiting for me to say something.

"...I need a moment." I mumbled, then shuffled past them and into the library, where I closed and locked the door behind me.

_**AN:**__** Review! I don't know when I will update next, but let me tell you, this whole story is planned out to the end... I just need the time to write it :P **_


	9. Chapter 9

_**AN: Well, it's been a while, hasn't it? :P**_  
_**I'm gonna try and do a few updates over the winter break from school. Hopefully I'll get lots done.**_

_**Enjoy! **_

((DAPHNE'S POV))  
I paced back and forward in the library, walking from one stain-glassed window to the other, completely unaware that I had been here for at least an hour now. I knew this had been his plan. Draco wanted to have my thinking about what he meant, wanted it to take up my every waking thought. Well, so far it was working.

"What would my parents have to do with this..." I muttered occasionally, looking up now at our huge, ceiling-to-floor bookshelves that lined every wall. I couldn't understand how they would even be involved in this situation...

I hadn't spoken to either of them since my sister's wedding. And due to my concealing charms and close-to-the-chest secret life, I doubt that they even knew I was married or had children until Draco found out and told them. But I couldn't understand why they would be involved in a plot like this! To lock my husband, the son of a man who was their friend, and someone who they had only spoken to a grand total of maybe 3 times, it all seemed too irrational, even for them. My father only acted at the bidding of others, whether it was my mother or Lucius or the Dark Lord; there was no way he could have come up with this idea. My mother was the brains behind the operation and their marriage, but even I knew that she would consider it a waste of time and effort to go after me when I haven't seen them in two decades... None of what Draco said was adding up to me.

There was a pop, and I didn't even need to turn around and see who it was. Instead, I just continued to pace around my library, still deep in thought. "I hope you have something brilliant to say, Blaise." I said with a sigh.  
"Well, I usually do, but why?" Blaise chuckled as he entered the centre of the room, sitting on the piano bench where he could watch me pace.

"Because I want you to give me some sort of epiphany so I can have a chance of sleeping ever again." I said, crossing my arms around my chest, the abruptly stopping and collapsing into the over-stuffed leather couch beside the piano. "I'm completely stumped."

"Well, talk it out a bit for me." He mused, putting his feet up on the nearby coffee table. "It helps Lexus figure his stuff out, and I tend to absorb information quickly."

"But you know the whole story... it's not like you're going to discover anything new." I sighed.

"Well, try it out anyways." Blaise suggested.

I sighed, and began to explain, from the start of everything with my parents, right up to the last time I had spoken to them. Occasionally, Blaise would ask for clarification, such as 'What did they do then?' or 'And what did Astoria say?' I had to admit, it was helpful to explain it to someone else, as it takes more effort and allocation of thoughts and memories to try and make sense of it for someone else. Considering that Blaise already knew about all the issues with my parents, it didn't surprise me that he wasn't confused by it all. But he did tell me to let him think for a few minutes, switching me places so that he was now on the couch, and I was at the piano.

As he pondered, rubbing his temples with his fingers, I stared at the ivory keys of my grand piano. I tapped the centre C-key, listening to it ring inside the wooden frame. I noted to myself that it needed to be tuned, and I would have to take some time to do that at some point this week. Then my fingers started to press more keys, in a general pattern of a song that I couldn't remember the name of. However, I played it so much when I was pregnant with Lilith that it was forever embedded in my brain. Before I knew it, I lifted my other hand and started to play the baseline along with the melody, and eventually added my feet to play the foot pedals. I had suddenly forgotten that Blaise was in the room: I just let myself and everything go for a few minutes, playing out a gorgeous, familiar, and comforting song. It at the same time reminded me of times that were simpler and happier: the first year of my marriage, my first pregnancy, the birth of my children... and then I went even further back to my years at Hogwarts. Despite my hatred, I found that Draco appeared so often that my entire focus was almost all on him. It sort of depressed me that he was all I could think about when I reflected on my childhood. But he was a big part of my life, and no matter what I said or did, I didn't think I would ever be able to get over that fact...

"I think I know what's up..."Blaise said as I finished the song, no doubt waiting for me to stop so he could speak without interrupting me. I looked at him, raising my eyebrows curiously as I waited for his input. "I think that this may be something to do with Astoria being jealous about something..."

"What?" I asked, confused. I couldn't fathom how she could be jealous that my parents disowned me. It just didn't make sense; they always favoured her over me.

"Well, I don't know. But it doesn't make sense otherwise... why else would she be doing this?" he paused for a moment "Do you think she's jealous of Theodore? Or maybe she thinks her parents like Theodore more? I don't know why she would lash out at him and not you."

"I wish she had..." I muttered. Blaise looked up at me, like he didn't want to believe what he had just heard. "I mean, if this is personal, she should have stuck to taking it out on me, and left Theodore out of this..."

"I don't think so." Blaise mumbled. I shot a look of disapproval of his cynicism. "I just mean we know she's not a rational being... and she wants to make the biggest impact she possibly can with everything she does. What's a bigger impact on you then having your husband imprisoned?"

"Well then what should I do?" I asked with a sigh.

"Go and see your parents." Blaise said flatly. I rolled my eyes and walked across the room, staring out the window at the nothing. "If they have something to do with it, then it would be easier to swallow your pride and just go find out."

"No. It's a trap." I replied shortly. Blaise didn't say anything, but I could feel him looking back at me with a disappointed expression. "Anything that comes from Draco is a trick. And even if it's not, Astoria will be waiting for me to come see them." I paused, then turned to face him. "Besides, they wouldn't want to see me."

"Then why did Draco say you should ask them how many daughters they have?"

"Because he's maniacal?" I sneered sarcastically. "I've never pretended to understand his motives."

"What about your sister's? Surely if she's behind this, you would be able to figure out why."

"If I have to think like that, I'll end up in darkness again..." I muttered, turning back to the window. "I'll end up back in that hell I lived in before Theodore pulled me out."

"If it makes you feel better, I can hide all the wine." Blaise replied lightly. I turned on my heel and glared at him, not amused with his humorous take on what was a very real and very dark time of my life. "I'm just saying we-Tracey and I- won't let you go back down that road." Blaise now crossed the room and stood beside me, his arm around my shoulders. "I won't ever let you go back there."

I didn't say anything for a minute. I was reflecting on what life was like back then for me, hoping that it would create some sort of realization. I knew that I owed my recovery to Theodore. Maybe it was that reason that he was sent to prison. Perhaps they wanted me to slip back into despair, making me an easy target for my sister's torments once more.

_I will never let her get to me again…_ I thought with determination, now slipping myself out of Blaise's reassuring grip. _Nor will I give in and play her game once more. _

"I will do nothing" I said flatly, walking away from Blaise and towards my piano once more, this time closing it. I had hoped that this would signal that the conversation was over.

"What do you mean 'nothing'?" he said in a tone that rivalled mine for dark emotion.

"I mean that I'm going to forget about that conversation with Draco, and carry on with the legal and logical way to clear Theodore's name." I turned and looked at him "If I give in, she will not stop. She will ruin more than just my marriage; she will ruin everything."

"So you're just going to ignore it?" Blaise scoffed, shaking his head in annoyance. "Quite the devoted wife you are…" he added sarcastically.

"You have no idea what she will do!" I shouted. Blaise didn't saying anything now. He simply stared at me. "If you had grown up with her, if you had _lived_ with her has long as I had, you would know that there is no point in playing this game. I _will_ lose." I stood there with my fists clenched hard. I felt a momentary urge to burst into tears, but I forced them back. Blaise continued to stare at me, so I signed and turned towards the door. "I think it's time for bed."

I opened the door in one swift motion. Not to my surprise, four figures fell in towards me, stumbling to stay on their feet with surprise. Damien and Kiki instantly retreated across the foyer and into the living room, as if they believed that if they moved fast enough I wouldn't have noticed them eavesdropping. Blaise's dark and bold-featured son was evidently embarrassed, despite the fact that I could not see his blushed cheeks from his ebony skin. It was only my daughter who regained her composure, and then stood there defiantly, staring at me with her father's honey coloured eyes.

"You're not going to take Mr. Malfoy's advice?" she said shortly. I stepped around her without acknowledging her question. "What about father!" she shouted. I could feel those tears starting to burn my eyes, so I continued on towards the stairs without answering her once more. "Why won't you help him!"

"Your mother is tired." Blaise said in a rare gentle tone. As I turned to ascend the stairs, I could see Damien peering out from behind the doorway, the same bitter expression that his sister was no doubt shooting at my back. I turned away from him, only to see Blaise, his son, and Lilith staring at me, mixtures of disappointment and anger on all their faces.

_They don't understand… I am doing this for them… they will thank me later! _I reassured myself. But I had to admit, in the back of my mind, I couldn't believe my choice either…

((LILITH'S POV))  
"She's gone mad!" I shouted angrily. Lysander widened his eyes and nodded his head slowly as he lounged on my bed like an Egyptian pharaoh. "How on earth can she call herself a devoted wife when she's leaving her husband to rot!"

"Well, perhaps she's been traumatized. Seeing Malfoy disable her charms with such ease may make her feel helpless?"

I opened my mouth to call him out, but then realized that he had a very valid point. I imagined how I would have felt if in 25 years, Scorpius showed up at my house unannounced like that and changed my figure like that.

_Naturally, I'd probably be going out of my mind too. _

"She shouldn't be shaken so easily!" I growled. "It just shows how weak she can be, and therefore how easily it is for Astoria to get to her! She's making it worse for herself!"

"I'm sure she'll come to her senses soon enough, Lilith." Lysander signed, leaning back so he was lying on my bed.

"But the trial is tomorrow!" I cried, now starting to pace back and forth across my room. "She will have to come to her senses in the next 5 minutes if she has a hope in hell in getting father out!"

"Lilith, calm down." Lysander said flatly. His eyes were now closed and he had his hands behind his head. He looked like he was lounging in the sun on a beach.

"How can I be calm right now! My father is going to go to Azkaban because my mother refuses to buck up and fight!"

"Fine, continue with your melt down." He said smartly. "Just remember, you mother has been through a lot in the past couple of days. She'll be back to normal soon."

"Lysander, you are not helping." I grumbled, stomping over to my bed and shoving him in the arm. He grunted in protest, then glared at me through his half-opened eyes. "I think I'm going to go to bed now." I said sharply. When Lysander didn't immediately get up and move, I jumped onto the bed and began to shove him.

"Oh come on Lilith!" I grumbled. "Just give me a second! Your bed is so comfortable" He said slowly, like he was falling asleep. I gave him another shove to show him that I was not kidding. "Alright, stop! I'm going…" he began to slowly sit up and climb off my bed. "If you need me, you know where I am." He said with a sleep smile. "And try not to stay up all night pacing… I can hear you stomping through the walls."

"Good night, Lysander." I grumbled as I reached for my wand.

As soon as he had closed the door, I flicked my wrist and locked it. Then I pulled the curtains on my window tightly closed, leaving only the dim light of my lamp. The trial was tomorrow, and although I think Lysander was suspicious, I tried very hard to not show him that I was terrified. If my mother did not do what Mr. Malfoy said, then how was she going to help father? The thought of what would happen if she didn't succeed made me queasy.

_I have a feeling it's going to be a long summer…  
_

((DAPHNE'S POV))

_Today is the day…  
_

I rolled over and looked out my bay window that faced out over the sea. The sun was still hidden far off, beyond the horizon, and it was turning the sky a dark purple. The lights along the shore were still glowing brightly, like tiny candles flickering in the dawn. There was silence all throughout the house; no one else was awake yet. For once, I was thankful for the silence.

I rolled out of my bed and shuffled sleepily over to my bathroom. I stared at myself in the mirror: my eyes were heavy and swollen from my tears. I had been up for most of the night crying for Theodore, and the rest of the night tossing and turning as I thought about what on earth Draco could have meant by ask my parents how many daughters they had.

_They pretend like I don't exist… They always have. _I thought as I picked up my hair brush and absently combed it through my bed-head. _'All you've ever been is trouble to our family,' he told me… How could the possibly even care about me, let alone my husband? _I looked out the window again; the sun was now slowly rising off in the distance. In a matter of hours, I would be sitting in the court room, watching my husband stand trial for being a veritable saint.

"No good deed goes unpunished…" I muttered as I ran the water into my sink, then splashed my face in an attempt to wake myself up. I then turned to look at my bathtub. The water from my bath last night was still there, now cold and clear. I sighed and flicked my wand at it, making the tub drain slowly. With all the excitement of last night, I could see that I had forgotten everything in here; there was water on the floor from where I had fallen out of the tub; candles burned down into piles of wax; papers from what I had been attempting to read before I fell asleep lying soggy on the side of the tub. The papers were parchment copies of a recent trial that Theodore had led. I was searching for a hint as to how Potter and his team found him out by scanning through all of Theodore's notes, as well as the trail transcripts. So far, I'd found nothing…

I didn't have time to clean up. I simply ignored it and started to get dressed. I wasn't sure what to wear, and it took me a long time to decide on something that didn't hint at innocence or guilt. I had chosen a dark, Slytherin-green, velvet dress with black tights and pumps. I left my hair down, only putting an emerald-jewelled hairband on to keep my hair out of my face. I didn't bother to put on a lot of make-up, as I thought it would just make me look more tired and worn-down. The last thing I put on were my diamond studs, which Theodore had given me as a present after Damien was born. I made sure they were polished to shine; I wanted to attract some attention from the court, as a way to remind them of all my husband had done for the wizarding world.

The sun was now sitting just above the horizon, making the sky a pale blue and the water sparkle. It was a beautiful day, I just hoped that it would stay that way for me. I gathered my things in my purse before I took one last look at myself in my mirror. I had to admit, after seeing myself in my 17 year old body, today I looked tired and old. But, for my age, I think I looked pretty decent. I was hoping that the court room would feel the same way. But most of all, I hoped Theodore would notice most of all.

I quietly exited my room, sneaking down the stairs silently. I didn't want my children, nor Blaise, to hear me leave. I didn't need the repeat of last night's drama. As I stood before my fireplace, I sighed when I saw a family portrait. Seeing Theodore, smiling and waving at me like there was nothing wrong, gave me a strange sense of comfort.

_I'm going to bring you home today… No matter the verdict, I swear I will._

**_AN: REVIEW! I'LL UPDATE FASTER IF YOU DO!_**


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